Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Cougar II
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The mercenary monitoring the jewelry exhibition from the second floor of the cafe realized he'd been spotted and rolled his eyes.
He had no gun. But he did have a knife.
'The cafe's exits are probably already sealed off. That leaves just one escape route.'
Having made his judgment, the mercenary swiftly drew his knife, swung it in a wide arc, and backed away.
'Gotta jump out the window...'
Park Soon-gi watched calmly as the blade sliced through the air, then lunged at the enemy the instant it passed in front of him.
This kind of close-quarters combat was something he'd drilled into himself learning Gun Kwon Do from Na Gang-in—until his mouth tasted like blood and his whole body was black and blue.
'Compared to Master Na, this guy's slow as hell and full of openings!'
Park Soon-gi grabbed the enemy's arm, twisted it back, and slammed his head onto the table.
"Gurk!"
He wrenched the arm further, forcing the knife to drop. Then he snapped handcuffs on him.
"Where do you get off swinging that thing around?"
Park Soon-gi's colleagues approached and dragged away the mercenary he'd just caught.
One of the fellow detectives came up to him.
"I knew you were good at hand-to-hand, hyung, but this is on another level. How'd you take down a knife guy that easy?"
"After all the hell I went through learning Gun Kwon Do, you think I couldn't handle one punk like that?"
"I wanna learn Gun Kwon Do too."
"Too late. Classes are full."
Park Soon-gi turned his phone's ringtone back up from silent and glanced at the jewelry exhibition hall. The gunfire had just stopped.
"What's going on in there?"
Suddenly, his phone rang. He checked the number.
"Shin Eun-ha?"
He had no idea she was inside the jewelry exhibition hall. For a split second, he wondered if he should take the call during the operation, but his finger had already tapped the screen.
"This is Park Soon-gi."
Na Gang-in spoke.
- We've secured the first floor. Second floor's empty. Everyone's evacuating to the rooftop.
"Huh? Master Na? Whoa, no surprise there!"
- Situation's not over yet. What's the status outside?
"We've nabbed three terrorists. I got one myself. We're securing the perimeter and checking the area. Haven't spotted any others."
This time, Park Soon-gi asked.
"How's it inside? We're about to breach the front door."
- Negative. The building's contaminated with chemical weapons.
Park Soon-gi jumped.
"What? Chemical weapons? You mean the one we've been..."
- XVE gas. Yulmyeong Bio developed an antidote. Tell them to bring every dose they've got.
Park Soon-gi set his notepad on the table and jotted it down with a pen.
"Yulmyeong Bio's antidote... Hold on. Hasn't this gone through human trials yet?"
- We used it on people severely poisoned inside. Don't know about side effects, but it worked like a charm.
"What? On experimental drugs...?"
- Without it, those exposed bad would've died.
"Ah... Yeah, then we have to use it. Side effects can wait."
- Figure out which gas masks work against XVE gas and secure them before entering. Yulmyeong Bio should have the specs.
"Got it. You heading to the rooftop too, Master Na?"
- No. One guy's gone underground. I'm going after him.
Park Soon-gi worried.
"That's dangerous. Leave him to us. You've done plenty."
- The XVE gas that contaminated the first floor was in a canister smaller than a tumbler. Portable stuff. That's why only the first floor got hit.
"Phew. Small mercies."
- But the basement's got a massive XVE gas canister. Industrial size.
"Say what?"
"If that blows, the whole area's blanketed in XVE gas."
Park Soon-gi looked around the exhibition grounds in panic.
This was Jongno. Less crowded than Jonggak, but still packed with people.
"Th-there's civilians everywhere right now."
- I hid that canister. I'll catch him before he finds it, but just in case—evacuate everyone.
Park Soon-gi bellowed at his colleagues.
"Evacuate the whole area! Chemical weapon alert! Call in the CBRN unit too!"
Park Soon-gi's face went pale. This kind of incident needed pros from the counter-terror unit, not outsiders.
But there was no time. If that chem weapon went off now, the whole district—including him right in front of the exhibition—would be toast.
And the civilian handling it wasn't just anyone—it was Na Gang-in.
Park Soon-gi spoke into his phone with utter sincerity.
"Master Na. Good luck. Save us."
In his judgment, this was the best call.
Na Gang-in descended to the basement. Before leaving the stairs, he peeked around the corner with a hand mirror.
The mirror he'd been carrying was a gift from Shin Eun-ha long ago. It gave him a quick glimpse outside the stairwell.
Na Gang-in spun the mirror once, then pocketed it.
AI Jeon Ji-in pieced together the reflection and analyzed the basement's current layout, incorporating object data from their earlier fight down there. In an instant, a holographic image of what lay beyond the corner formed.
The translucent hologram projected onto his AR lens. Now Na Gang-in could see through the corner like X-ray vision.
AI Jeon Ji-in reported.
- Tracking enemy position via noise. Distant or stationary targets are hard to pinpoint.
"He'll keep moving. He's hunting for the gas canister."
Cougar wasn't in the currently detectable range.
Na Gang-in strode around the corner.
Jeon Ji-in's prediction hologram was excellent, but nothing beat eyes on the ground. He scanned his surroundings as he headed for where he'd hidden the XVE gas.
"Secure the canister first, then nab the guy..."
AI Jeon Ji-in reported.
- Enemy spotted!
"I see him too."
Na Gang-in wasn't the only one who'd spotted. Cougar had eyes on him now too.
Problem. Cougar was right in front of where the XVE gas canister was hidden.
AI Jeon Ji-in warned in rapid-fire speech.
- Caution with firearms. A miss or ricochet could rupture the hidden canister—catastrophe.
Cougar aimed his pistol at Na Gang-in and pulled the trigger. Na Gang-in dove sideways behind cover. Two more shots flew, then enemy fire stopped.
Na Gang-in called from behind cover.
"Ji-in. If I shoot, think he'll dodge?"
- Enemy's highly agile. He was fast escaping the first floor. Possible he'll evade one or two shots.
Any chance of evasion meant no shooting toward Cougar. A stray round hitting the XVE canister spelled disaster. No matter how slim the odds, he couldn't gamble with countless lives.
Wearing a mini gas mask, Cougar yelled.
"You bastard! How long can you hold your breath?!"
Na Gang-in replied.
"Handy excuse. If folks later ask why I didn't need a mask, I can use that line."
- Add that you got the antidote shot—perfect cover.
"Obviously."
That was for later. Right now, he needed a way to take Cougar without gunfire.
"Gotta do it the hard way."
He regretted not wearing the Dragon Plate today.
"Didn't expect to run myself ragged."
He'd come to confirm if this exhibition was the enemy's target. If he found solid leads, he'd hand it off to Park Soon-gi and the cops.
But of course, Cougar picked this moment to raid.
"Bad luck today."
- Your bad luck saved all the visitors here right now.
"That so?"
"Yes."
Na Gang-in slipped the hand mirror out from cover, peeked, and pulled it back. Jeon Ji-in marked where Cougar's pistol was aimed.
"Let's go."
Na Gang-in burst from cover.
Cougar was pre-aimed. He fired the instant Na Gang-in appeared.
But Na Gang-in was way faster than predicted. The bullet only split the air where he'd already been.
Couger swung the muzzle sideways and fired again. Na Gang-in juked even faster.
Now Cougar got it.
'That guy's not human-level!'
But he had a counter.
Cougar ditched aimed shots for suppressive fire—muzzle vaguely toward Na Gang-in, trigger mashing.
Projected trajectories lined up in Na Gang-in's vision. Not just one or two.
AI-assisted, he could dodge precision fire. But this spray? Tougher.
AI Jeon Ji-in warned.
- Evasion at limit!
Na Gang-in hurled himself behind another cover. No time for a clean landing—he rolled forward into it. A bullet grazed his shoe.
Leaning against cover, Na Gang-in said.
"He's got some aim."
International merc Cougar sensed something off.
"Why isn't he shooting?"
He'd seen Na Gang-in's pistol. Yet no counterattack—just dodging.
"With evasion like that, even suppressive fire should've been tricky if he was shooting back. Why not?"
One reason flashed in Cougar's mind.
"Something behind me he can't risk shooting?"
He'd rushed to the basement hunting the XVE canister. Na Gang-in showed before he found it, starting the shootout.
Cougar whipped around. There—a fire hose cabinet. Pretty big one.
He yanked open the panel. Inside, the massive canister.
Cougar's face lit up.
"Found..."
Noise from behind. He spun, pistol up.
Na Gang-in had closed the gap.
Even opening the fire door, Cougar had kept tabs on him. Distance was decent. He figured he'd have time to check the panel.
But Na Gang-in covered it in seconds. His short-burst speed crushed expectations.
Na Gang-in's legs were fast, but so were Cougar's hands. Pistol trained on him, finger tightening.
Na Gang-in snatched the slide, hit the takedown, and racked it. Pistol fell apart—lower receiver only.
Cougar pulled the trigger anyway. No bang from the half-dismantled gun.
No lingering. He dropped it, left hand darting back for the canister valve.
'Just twist this...'
Before his fingers touched, Na Gang-in clamped his throat and yanked him forward.
"Gack!"
Na Gang-in dragged him fast, ripping off the gas mask.
The building was laced with XVE gas. Some had seeped downstairs.
Cougar flailed in panic.
"Guhk, no..."
"Gonna blow chem weapons over some jewels, but scared to die yourself?"
"Guh. Let, let me go... I'll give you a billion..."
Na Gang-in drove a fist into his jaw. Cougar's head snapped sideways, body slumping. International merc down from one punch.
Na Gang-in shut the fire cabinet, dragged Cougar one-handed, and called Park Soon-gi.
"Got the boss."
- The XVE gas!
"Secured."
Park Soon-gi sighed in relief.
- Whew. Knew it, Master Na! Had faith!
"Outside status?"
- Contacted Yulmyeong Bio. Their Seoul lab's sending all antidote stocks. Gas mask specs check out—ours'll work.
"Good. People are on the rooftop for now, but unknowns inside. Starting interior sweep."
- Master Na, it's contaminated. You okay?
Na Gang-in eyed Cougar's mask. Perfect excuse.
"Wearing a mask now."
- Ah. Great. We'll breach once ready.
Na Gang-in bound Cougar in the basement. Needed him alive for intel. Couldn't risk hauling to the contaminated first floor.
He headed up alone, about to call Shin Eun-ha—but he was using her phone.
Instead, he dialed Yi Bora.