Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Rooftop
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On the rooftop of the jewelry exhibition hall, the people who had evacuated from the first floor were gathered.
Those who had escaped early in the incident were in no danger to their lives. That said, their conditions weren't great. Most of them were slumped on the ground, utterly drained.
Shin Eun-ha's group arrived on the rooftop later than the others.
They had been in the worst shape upon reaching the roof. But their recovery was the fastest. It was thanks to the antidote injections they'd received on the first floor.
Yi Bora took a deep breath.
"Hoo! Hahhh. We're alive."
She heard her phone ring and pulled it out. The caller ID read 'Shin Eun-ha'.
But Shin Eun-ha was standing right next to her.
Yi Bora jumped in fright.
"G-Ghost?"
Shin Eun-ha glanced at the caller ID and said,
"If you're alive, how could I be dead? I'm not dead. Na Gang-in oppa borrowed my phone just a bit ago."
"He did?"
"Didn't you see?"
"I wasn't in my right mind back then."
Now knowing who the caller was, Yi Bora answered.
"Gang-in oppa! Where are you right now?!"
- Your condition?
"Ah! You're worried about me? I'm fine!"
- The others who evacuated to the rooftop.
"Oh... Everyone here's okay."
She glanced at the arm where she'd been injected with the antidote, curiosity piqued.
"What even was that shot? My body's recovering so fast. Just a little while ago, I could barely breathe."
- Uh...
It was a drug that hadn't undergone clinical trials yet. Animal tests had only confirmed no major issues.
- It's the latest antidote, that's why.
"If it's new, it must be good for you, right?"
Na Gang-in changed the subject.
- Everyone's resting on the rooftop. Tell Eun-ha and Yu-chan to keep a close watch on the rooftop entrance. No one comes down. We've handled things here, but there's still poison gas inside the building.
"Got it!"
Shin Eun-ha, who had been listening intently from right beside her, reached out.
"Let me talk to him too."
"I'm not done yet."
Shin Eun-ha grabbed Yi Bora's hand and pulled the phone toward her face.
"Gang-in oppa. If there's still gas down there, you need to come up quick. Why are you even calling?"
- I'm fine with the gas mask. And I need to check if there are more people left on the first floor.
"You got more gas masks? Thank goodness."
High schooler Lee Yeon-ji was also pressed right up against Yi Bora. She leaned in toward the phone and said,
"Mister! You were a total hero today!"
- Not hero enough for that.
Na Gang-in hung up.
Shin Eun-ha gazed warmly at the smartphone screen as the call ended.
"He's a hero to me."
Yi Bora quickly chimed in.
"Me too! He's my hero!"
"Bora, don't butt in and ruin my moment."
After hanging up, Na Gang-in said,
"This basically counts as a field clinical trial for Yulmyeong Bio."
He'd had no choice. Earlier, the antidote was the only way to save Shin Eun-ha's group.
Na Gang-in, still wearing his gas mask, headed back to the spot on the first floor where he'd fought Cougar's gang. That area had the highest concentration of XVE gas. Leaving the three unconscious mercenaries there would kill them. That would complicate things a lot.
Besides, keeping those three from the first floor alive meant more people for the police to question. The more who talked, the better.
The security guard who'd been nearby and collapsed had received an antidote shot at the same time as Shin Eun-ha's group. His condition was still poor, but they'd taken him to the rooftop, so he wasn't here now.
Na Gang-in gathered the three mercenaries' legs together, grabbed their pant cuffs, and dragged them to the entrance. The gas concentration was relatively lower there.
He quickly searched the jewelry exhibition hall and found two security guards, one staff member from the basement security room, and one person in an office.
These people couldn't be dragged. He carried two at a time over his shoulders and moved them to the entrance.
Na Gang-in checked the remaining antidote. Seven poisoned people, but only enough left for three full doses.
"Not enough antidote..."
AI Jeon Ji-in explained.
- All XVE gas antidotes can improve condition with just half the required dose. It won't restore combat ability, but it'll keep them alive until more antidote arrives or they're transported to a hospital.
"Still short. If I give half doses to the staff, that'll leave just one dose for these three."
- A 33% dose will buy them a bit more time than that.
"No other way."
Na Gang-in first gave the staff half doses. Now he was out of syringes too. He reused the used ones, dividing the remaining antidote sparingly among the mercenaries.
"Now there's really no antidote left."
Suddenly, a hole was punched in the first-floor door. Starting from there, the metal sheet began slicing away bit by bit.
- Beware of external intrusion.
"Probably the police."
- I think so too.
Moments later, the police special forces breached the door and entered. All wearing gas masks.
Park Soon-gi followed them in, also masked. He spotted Na Gang-in and hurried over.
"Instructor Na!"
Na Gang-in asked,
"You made a plan before cutting the hole in the door, right?"
"Of course. We set up a temporary sealed space outside the entrance with thick vinyl. Civilians in the area have been evacuated. Yulmyeong Bio's antidote is on the way."
Park Soon-gi looked a tad uneasy.
"But how effective is that antidote...?"
"It's definitely effective. Side effects? Unknown."
Park Soon-gi knew Na Gang-in had already used it. No other choice to save the poisoned.
"Yulmyeong Bio swears there are no side effects. We have to trust them."
Park Soon-gi pointed at the small gas mask on Na Gang-in's face.
"And this chemical weapon only poisons through respiration. It dissipates gradually in the air, so contamination doesn't last long. The small amount leaking outside will dilute harmlessly, and inside the building, it'll be gone in a few hours."
"Pretty clean for a chemical weapon."
AI Jeon Ji-in said,
- XVE gas is easy to abuse because cleanup is straightforward.
"Like this time."
Na Gang-in pointed downward.
"Four more in the basement."
"We'll handle it right away."
"XVE gas canisters are down there too."
"Gasp!"
Na Gang-in suggested,
"Let's go retrieve those canisters together."
Park Soon-gi pressed on his gas mask hesitantly.
"No, that's for the chemical weapons experts..."
"Fine, do that. The others evacuated to the rooftop, so help them out."
"Yes. We'll transport the gunshot victims to the hospital first."
Na Gang-in pointed at the mercenaries.
"The one shot four times and the one with the butterfly ornament in his shoulder—they're the jewelry robbers. The guy next to them is part of the gang too."
"Cuff them and send to the hospital. But..."
Park Soon-gi pointed at the metal butterfly embedded in one man's shoulder.
"That butterfly... is it some kind of hidden weapon?"
"Pardon?"
"You know, like those butterfly-shaped darts that make blood flow nonstop...?"
"No. It's just a metal and jewel hair accessory."
"Right, of course. Going from guns to hidden weapons now... Can I learn that too?"
"Gun Fist training must be a breeze for you?"
"Heh, no. Police don't do hidden weapons."
Soon, rescue teams entered the exhibition hall.
The first special forces had only worn gas masks to enter, but the rescuers wore full NBC suits with oxygen tanks on their backs.
The special forces who'd scouted ahead touched their gas masks.
"This enough for us?"
"Uh... Kinda nerve-wracking."
"If my wife saw me like this, she'd cry."
"I want to cry. No girlfriend to cry for me."
More special forces in protective suits entered.
The team leader gestured to the first entrants.
"Orders came. We're pulling out. Can't exit through the entrance yet, so up to the roof and down the ladder truck. Change into suits outside and come back in."
Park Ki-jeong, who'd entered with them, pressed his mask.
"Uh... I should go out too..."
Na Gang-in asked,
"Abandoning me?"
"I'll suit up and come back. Instructor Na, come with?"
Na Gang-in looked around.
NBC unit members were measuring XVE gas levels with equipment. New special forces were evacuating survivors and arresting the mercenaries.
Among the newcomers were medics from Yulmyeong Bio with antidotes.
The doctor checked the mercenaries and panicked.
"Huh? These three are in really bad shape."
Na Gang-in told the doctor,
"Short on antidote, so the perps got minimal doses. They need one full each."
"What? Why'd you arbitrarily decide to inject..."
"Weren't here earlier. Don't complain."
"No, but their conditions... This one's shot four times, the butterfly guy's hit by something huge..."
"Handled gently so they wouldn't die."
"How do you shoot gently... Gasp!"
The doctor realized the man who'd wrecked the mercenaries was standing right there.
"Y-You avoided vitals masterfully. Ha, haha."
Na Gang-in went to the basement with special forces and secured the XVE canisters.
He pointed at Cougar.
"That's the boss. That one's the one who disabled security. Those two were going to disperse gas in the area."
After handing over Cougar and the three mercenaries, Na Gang-in said to Park Soon-gi,
"Cleanup's yours. Let's get out."
Park Soon-gi's face lit up.
"Finally! Good call."
Na Gang-in headed to the rooftop.
Fire trucks had arrived, evacuating everyone. Now the ladder truck carried special forces, the last rescues, and captured mercenaries.
Park Soon-gi watched from one side of the roof.
"Who the hell are these guys to pull off something this insane?"
"Their methods resemble Jackal's."
"Jackal just used guns. These added chemical weapons."
"Similar style to Jackal, but even more brutal."
Park Soon-gi declared loudly,
"I'll uncover who they are."
"Codename Cougar. International mercenary for hire."
"What? Cougar? International merc?"
"Cougar's another name for puma. A beast."
"Ah... Huh? How do you know that, Instructor Na?"
"Internet search brings up his codename easy enough."
"Ah, yeah. Searched the net, right? You're joking, obviously?"
Na Gang-in advised,
"Cougar's an international criminal, so police have files. I only know he's a Jackal-style merc. Dig deeper yourself."
"First thing after we get out."
Na Gang-in had warned Park Soon-gi before the incident that this jewelry exhibition hall might be the enemy's target. That intel had gone straight to the Joint Investigation Headquarters.
The JIH, in the middle of an executive meeting, responded immediately.
"Found the terror suspect list!"
"Where's the security firm contact for the jewelry hall?!"
The JIH had acquired XVE gas terror intel yesterday and investigated up to today. They had plenty of collected and analyzed data.
"Distribute our data to all departments!"
"On it!"
An executive receiving an outside call shouted to the JIH chief,
"Huh? Na Gang-in's at that jewelry hall right now!"
"What? For real?"
"The terror warning just now was from Na Gang-in himself!"
The chief was flustered.
"Did he find the target alone?"
Another executive said,
"We were narrowing down terror targets too, but too many suspects. We narrowed to ten."
The chief asked,
"Jewelry hall in those ten?"
"No."
"Did you send that list out?"
"Not yet..."
"Then... say the predicted sites are still under analysis. We never selected ten."
Admitting a wrong guess would just draw mockery, no help solving the case.
"Right?"
"But how'd Na Gang-in know it was the terror target?"
"That's weird. Our analysis didn't flag the jewelry hall as a target. If they hit it..."
The JIH chief slapped his palm with his fist.
"Not terror—a jewelry heist?"
"Probably. That's why it's not on our list."
"Refocus analysis there. Something useful in our data."
The JIH analyzed and sent updates to relevant departments whenever they found something.
New info came in.
"Uh... Chief?"
"What?"
"They caught them all."
"What do you mean?"
"The ones who took the jewelry hall—all apprehended."
The bustling meeting room fell silent. Moments later, one spoke.
"Na Gang-in again?"
"Yes."
That person flung the just-finished analysis report overhead.
"Can't compete with that."