Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Acting Skills
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Na Gang-in put on a show in the hallway, pretending he'd just spotted Lee Tae-ho by chance.
The four men descending the stairs behind Lee Tae-ho were caught off guard at first. But once they overheard the conversation, they snickered.
As they finished coming down the stairs, they muttered among themselves.
"Looks like someone was still hanging around. Did they even search the building properly?"
"They probably skipped the locked doors."
"What a joke their search was."
"Phones are all jammed anyway. It's not like it's the second floor where anyone could escape—fifth floor, one guy left behind doesn't matter."
One of the others chimed in.
"Exactly. That's why the boss put three guys just on the second floor."
Na Gang-in used facial expressions and hand signals in the hallway to convey his real intentions to Lee Tae-ho. Lee Tae-ho walked toward the hallway as directed.
AI Jeon Ji-in used the enemies' footsteps as data to pinpoint their positions on the stairs. In a rapid voice, she reported.
A translucent outline of a human figure appeared beyond the wall.
AI Jeon Ji-in couldn't predict the exact direction of the enemy's gun barrel. Na Gang-in assumed they were coming down with weapons trained ahead.
The first enemy stepped off the final stair and turned his head toward the hallway.
That instant, Na Gang-in burst out.
The enemy's eyes widened. His silenced pistol was aimed at the hallway. At that angle, a shot would hit Lee Tae-ho.
Na Gang-in grabbed the enemy's arm, yanking it sideways while slamming his elbow into the man's throat.
"Gah!"
The enemy crumpled with a short cry.
As the arm was flung aside, the enemy's finger squeezed the trigger. The bullet from his pistol struck the body of one of the men still descending the stairs.
"Ugh!"
The enemy wore a low-level bulletproof vest. The subsonic round jolted his body but failed to penetrate the vest.
It didn't matter. Na Gang-in had his own pistol.
He used the unconscious man as a shield and pulled the trigger on the remaining enemies.
It wasn't just one shot. Two rounds hammered the enemy's torso to prevent retaliation. The next two buried one each into his arm and leg—no armor there.
"Argh!"
The enemy screamed and tumbled up the stairs.
The two men farther back had aimed their pistols during the fight with the front two.
Na Gang-in was using the knocked-out man as cover.
The enemies, meanwhile, were fully exposed.
Na Gang-in had the advantage.
He beat them to the draw, targeting the legs of the man on the stairs. AI Jeon Ji-in boosted his accuracy.
The moment Na Gang-in pulled the trigger, his pistol emitted an ugly metallic clunk. No bullet fired.
"Damn it!"
Now the odds had flipped. Getting pinned by enemy fire would be deadly.
Na Gang-in dropped his shield and leaped sideways.
Two enemies remained. They pulled their triggers. Bullets whizzed past where his head had been.
Na Gang-in kicked off the wall and vaulted upward. A round embedded in the spot he'd just pushed from.
He flipped in midair, twisting to draw his backup pistol from behind his waist.
His toe touched the ceiling. He kicked off it, spinning his body. This was riskier—a bullet grazed his waist and thudded into the wall.
Na Gang-in fired from midair.
Even with AI Jeon Ji-in's assistance, firing while spinning in the air tanked accuracy.
His first shot missed.
An enemy round streaked past his shoulder.
Na Gang-in fired again. The second bullet was stopped by the enemy's vest.
Even AI Jeon Ji-in's predictions had errors.
The enemy's shot veered slightly off prediction, grazing him. A ricochet from the wall sent fragments flying, including cement chips.
After circling wall and ceiling once, Na Gang-in kicked off the hallway wall, launching backward while firing.
This time, it hit true—a bullet tore into the enemy's leg.
"Gaaah!"
The man screamed and tumbled down the stairs.
Na Gang-in landed on the floor. The last enemy, shielded by the upper stairs, was out of sight. He dashed sideways, kicking the tumbling man's head, then aimed up the stairs.
The final enemy abandoned his attack, ducking behind the stairs to climb back up.
"Got it!"
Na Gang-in bounded up the stairs.
Lee Tae-ho watched wide-eyed from the hallway as Na Gang-in fought. Gunfire made him flinch.
Seeing Na Gang-in charge the stairs, he shouted urgently.
"There's a mine there!"
The enemy hiding behind the stairs trusted only his booby trap.
'Step on it, and boom!'
It was a laser-sensor explosive trap on the stairs. Crossing the beam triggered a micro-bomb.
The bomb was tiny, with low explosive power.
But it launched a dozen darts. The blast propelled them into the intruder's leg, punching holes.
The masked man plugged his ears, anticipating the blast—even small in tight space, it could deafen.
'Once he's crippled, finish him...'
Something was wrong. The bomb should've detonated.
The battle had been so fast he'd missed details.
'Two guys rolled down the stairs—no explosion!'
He yanked his hands from his ears. Na Gang-in sailed over him from above.
The enemy hastily raised his pistol and fired.
Too late. Muzzle pointed wrong. Bullet hit the wall behind Na Gang-in's path.
Na Gang-in extended his leg midair. His sole smashed the enemy's face.
"Keh!"
The last man’s head snapped back, and he collapsed.
Na Gang-in tapped the stair railing to steady his landing. He glanced at the booby trap.
Its detonator was already disabled. No beam would trigger it now.
Na Gang-in looked upward.
"Any more?"
He surveyed the stairs. Four armed masked men lay sprawled. Two knocked out by him, two groaning from limb wounds.
The brief fight ended. AI Jeon Ji-in announced.
Na Gang-in reflected on the fight.
"See? Knowing where they'll shoot before they do lets you dodge bullets too."
"Dodging felt like a rhythm game. Just twist your body instead of fingers when the lines show up."
"You wanna advertise the company even now?"
"Fine. Not rhythm—bullet hell game."
"Bullet hell's all about dodging barrages."
THO Entertainment President Lee Tae-ho stood in the hallway. From his spot, he couldn't see the upper stairs fight.
"Whoa... seriously..."
Even just the lower stairs action was insane.
He knew how Na Gang-in had taken down the kidnappers, but seeing him trade blows with armed thugs felt different.
The stairs fell silent. He crept to the edge, peeking out. Na Gang-in stood midway up, in the wide landing. Footprints scarred the walls, but he barely noticed.
Na Gang-in glanced down, then up again.
"President Lee Tae-ho, you came from the seventh floor, right? I need intel on it."
"Y-Yes? Uh, yeah?"
"Anything useful—spill it."
Lee Tae-ho quickly explained.
"These guys were taking me down to the second floor. Three more there—they planned to hand me off."
"And after?"
"They had extra masks. Said they'd put them on civilians on the second floor and march them out the first-floor exit."
"So the ones exiting with hostages from the first floor are the second-floor relief crew."
"Yeah. And they'd reinforce with one more from the first floor."
"What about you, President Lee?"
"M-Me?"
"Why take you?"
"Oh! They wanted me to go out unmasked and deliver demands to the cops outside. Bring vehicles for escape."
Na Gang-in pieced together their plan.
"Masks on civilians up front— in a shootout, civilians take the hits first."
"Wait—what? Shootout? I'm going out too!"
"Your face is exposed, so cops won't target you."
"Still, stray bullets happen..."
"I just took these guys out—no shootout."
"Right, yeah. So they were using me as their mouthpiece and civilians as bullet sponges."
"More than that. Once cops realize they shot civilians, they'll hesitate to fire even at real threats. Can't tell the difference."
"Wow, ruthless... Wait, Gang-in. If a shootout happens, wouldn't their own guys get hit too?"
"Exiting are the three on second and one from first. Not core members—expendable. Mercenaries, probably."
"Mercenaries? In Korea?"
Na Gang-in pulled off one man's mask. East Asian features.
"Picked East Asian mercs fluent in Korean. Ditch the masks, and cops assume all perps are Korean."
"Why bother?"
Without Na Gang-in's intervention, police would've surrounded the building by now—or even been called. Fat chance.
"Buys time for Korean crime investigation. They slip out overseas—case goes cold. No domestic leads."
"Ah... Clever bastards. That's why they kept chattering in Korean."
"To imprint on witnesses: Korean perps."
The detective at the local precinct ran Na Gang-in's ID per his team lead's orders.
He'd seen the viral carjacking video. Knew Na Gang-in could fight.
But the quick check showed no spec-ops history.
The team lead worried after the report.
"I know his martial arts are top-notch. But charging guys with guns? He'll get shot."
"No amateur rushes guns, no matter how good."
"Right? Not against multiples."
The detective nodded.
"Obviously. He'd die."
Lee Tae-ho asked tensely.
"Second-floor people are in danger too. Any way to save them?"
Na Gang-in replied.
"Second floor's fine."
"Huh?"
"Already handled."
Lee Tae-ho didn't get it.
"Handled... meaning?"
"Took out two on first, three on second. Gave the second-floor folks two pistols—won't fold easy to surprises."
Lee Tae-ho panicked.
"N-No way."
He'd overheard from the seventh.
"Boss radioed first and second—no issues."
Static crackled from the radio on a downed man.
Na Gang-in whispered to Jeon Ji-in.
"Mimic the radio guy's voice."
Then into the radio:
"Took out two on fifth. No casualties on our side."
"Small storeroom behind a wall painting."
Radio went quiet.
Lee Tae-ho gaped.
"G-Gang-in... Wasn't that the knocked-out guy's voice just now?"