Chapter 38
Chapter 38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Moving
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Na Gang-in asked.
“You sure that was gunfire?”
“And this is the first time someone’s fired from the seventh floor?”
“What about now?”
“If it’s hard even for you to pick up, then it’s either well-soundproofed or too far away to hear clearly. Distance?”
“Let’s say five floors to be safe.”
This building was seven stories tall. The seventh floor housed the upscale restaurant Penelope.
Na Gang-in analyzed the situation.
“The enemy fired twice from the seventh floor. If it’s the same deal as down here, the first shot was probably a warning.”
He glanced up again.
“So why the second one?”
Shin Eun-ha had gone up to the seventh floor and hadn’t come back down yet.
“Breaking glass and gunfire. If it was an exterior window, shards would’ve rained down like a waterfall outside that one.”
“Any screams?”
“Smashing a glass display case with a gun makes a big noise and a flashy show. Perfect for scaring people.”
“Probably smashed a glass wine rack.”
The enemy had issued two warnings. Na Gang-in guessed the reason.
“The guys on seven must’ve dropped the shutters and are taking their sweet time terrorizing people up there. Buys us some time, at least. Let’s take out these clowns first.”
“I wasn’t planning on…”
Trouble. The kid in the second-floor café burst into terrified sobs.
“Waaah! I wanna go home!”
One of the armed thugs aimed his pistol that way and bellowed.
“Shut that kid up!”
The child’s mother panicked and pulled him into a hug.
“It’s okay. Shh, quiet now, okay?”
“Mommy! I’m scared!”
The crying spread like wildfire.
There were three kids in this second-floor café right now. The other two started bawling too.
Even some adults were crying.
The armed thug advanced on them, pistol raised.
“You little shits! I said shut up! I’ll kill every noisy bastard here!”
The people realized the thug might actually shoot. His eyes were that murderous. But the kids wouldn’t stop crying.
The thug’s grip tightened on his gun. He spat curses laced with irritation.
“These little fucks ignoring me right n…”
Na Gang-in moved to an empty spot and shouted.
“Police here!”
The thug’s barrel snapped toward Na Gang-in instantly.
“Cops?”
Na Gang-in shrugged.
“Kidding.”
“You son of a…!”
Na Gang-in raised both hands.
“Kids cry when they’re scared. Shooting them for that ain’t human. Oh. You guys aren’t human, huh?”
“I’ll kill you!”
The enemy leveled his pistol at Na Gang-in. He sidestepped. The gun tracked him.
Another armed thug warned his buddy who was about to fire.
“Boss. Glass behind him.”
Hitting a moving target precisely is tough even with a rifle. Pistols are worse. Even pros miss movers.
Pistols aren’t accurate, but spray enough rounds and one’ll hit. If Na Gang-in’s back was to concrete, just keep shooting till it does.
But he’d moved toward the huge exterior glass wall. Miss him, and the bullet hits glass.
The masked thugs had herded the second-floor crowd to the opposite side of the glass wall right after entering the café. From outside, the interior was invisible.
But shatter that glass with bullets, and everything changes.
The thug boss yelled.
“Cover him!”
Another armed thug swung his barrel from the people toward Na Gang-in.
The boss advanced on Na Gang-in, pistol steady.
“Clever bastard. Think I won’t shoot just ‘cause you’re in front of glass?”
Their subsonic suppressed rounds wouldn’t penetrate a body. The boss smirked as he closed in, gun trained.
“This range, I won’t miss. Heh heh heh.”
Na Gang-in exploded forward off the floor.
Fast. Like a short-range teleport.
“Gah!”
The startled enemy tried to pull the trigger.
Na Gang-in’s hand beat the enemy’s finger. He slapped the wrist.
Snag the pistol, and he could drop the other two with it.
But one barrel still pointed at the people. Blocked by obstacles—he couldn’t shoot it direct from his position.
Shoot that guy and he doesn’t drop instant? He fires while falling. Worst case, trigger pulls on a corpse.
Plus, killing in front of witnesses? Even saving folks, the aftermath’s a headache.
So he didn’t take the gun. Chose another way.
The slapped wrist snapped clean. The pistol flew from numb fingers, skittering to the café corner.
The other two thugs clearly saw their buddy neutralized, gun airborne.
Na Gang-in was empty-handed now. On purpose.
The pistols aimed at people instinctively swung to him. No guns on civilians anymore.
Grab the wrist-snapped guy as a shield? Gives enemies time to think—barrel back to people.
Na Gang-in dove sideways.
One thug reflex-fired. Bullet chased him.
He was already gone. It thunked into the glass.
The thick pane didn’t shatter—just spiderwebbed lightly on the surface.
The high-speed voice came at several times normal chat speed—but fully intelligible.
The shooter panicked at first. Then saw the glass hold, damage minimal.
Relaxed, he fired again. Aimed at Na Gang-in.
Na Gang-in leaped sideways, flipping a table.
Big table, but top too thin, not solid wood. Useless shield.
Incoming bullet punched through the wooden surface.
Na Gang-in flipped tables one by one, launching them airborne as he advanced. Each flip blocked enemy sightlines.
One table airborne and crashing before the next flipped up. Tables stacking? He’d hurl both skyward.
To the thugs, it looked like an invisible monster flipping tables, barreling in. The space ahead filled with flying furniture.
Terror gripped them. They hosed bullets blindly.
“Raaagh!”
Not just one—both panicked, forgetting hostages, emptying clips at Na Gang-in.
Tables thudded with impacts. He was barely visible. They fired at every flip.
But he was never where they aimed.
Na Gang-in burst from beside a table.
Thug whipped his barrel over. Too slow—Na Gang-in slapped the wrist. Gun flew.
He snap-kicked. Foot slammed into gut.
Thug folded, hurled backward into the corner.
“Gack!”
One left. He’d been shooting tables like his buddies but hung back farther.
When Na Gang-in struck, he’d leaped away for distance. While his ally ate the hit, he lined up a clean shot.
Na Gang-in centered in his sights. Confident, he squeezed calmly.
Stand still, it hits left shoulder.
As the thug squeezed, Na Gang-in twisted sideways.
Bullet whizzed through empty air.
He charged.
Thug adjusted barrel slightly.
Na Gang-in twisted opposite, dropping low as trigger pulled. Bullet grazed between head and shoulder.
He kept closing. Distance shrank.
Thug’s eyes widened in shock.
‘How the hell does a human dodge bullets?!’
Panicking, judgment clouded. Figure he’d twist upper body again?
Na Gang-in’s last dodge had lowered his stance a bit.
Thug dipped barrel to legs.
‘Upper body miss? Legs then!’
Squeezed.
Na Gang-in kicked off the floor, leaping up.
Bullet ricocheted off floor to ceiling.
He landed.
Pistol slide locked back. Empty mag.
“Uh, uwaaah…”
Flustered thug fumbled a fresh mag from his pocket. Panicked—forgot to eject the old one. Couldn’t jam it in.
Na Gang-in strode forward steadily.
Thug realized no time to reload. Hurled pistol and mag at him.
Na Gang-in tilted his head aside. Dodged.
Thug yanked a jackknife from his pocket. Swung wild.
Na Gang-in slipped inside, grabbed the knife arm.
Kids here. No blood. Subdue clean.
Snap-twisted the wrist. Side punch to ribs.
“Gack!”
Legs buckled. Na Gang-in swept the legs, yanked the arm, flung him into the table stack.
Thug smashed through, wrecked.
‘No blood shown, at least.’
Na Gang-in shrugged, turned to the kids with a grin.
“Cool, right?”
Adults too stunned or scared to speak.
“Wha? What?”
“D-dodged a b-bullet just n…”
A big-headed kid asked Na Gang-in.
“Mister! You’re a hero, right?”
“Not mister—bro.”
He’d fully neutralized two of three.
But the first, the boss—only right wrist broken. By the time he’d pushed up from the floor, his crew was toast.
Boss rolled his eyes. His pistol lay in the corner.
Na Gang-in was chatting with the kid. Boss behind him now. Back exposed.
‘He can’t see me!’
Dashed for the gun.
Onlookers yelled urgently.
“Hey! That guy!”
“Grab that bastard!”
Na Gang-in snatched a nearby mug, spun, tossed it light—like a pitcher’s pickoff. Baseball, but mug.
Sturdy ceramic exploded spectacularly off the thug’s head.
Charging body pitched forward, face-planted.
Na Gang-in said.
“That’s what you get.”
Kid gawked, amazed.
“Whoa! How’d you see that? Eyes in the back of your head?”
Na Gang-in flashed a grin at the kid.
“This much? Mind’s eye sees all.”