Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Entry
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Na Gang-in launched a roundhouse kick at Jackal's head.
Jackal instantly slashed to the left with his dagger. If Na Gang-in followed through, his leg would be sliced open.
Na Gang-in abruptly pulled back the leg he had been extending. The air exploded with a sharp crack in midair. It looked as if he had intended to kick empty space from the start.
Jackal's blade sliced through nothing but air.
Na Gang-in thrust his leg out again. This time, it lightly swept Jackal's leg.
Jackal had whiffed high to the left, leaving his lower body undefended.
"Guhk!"
Jackal's leg didn't break, but his balance was completely shattered.
Na Gang-in slammed a proper roundhouse kick into the staggering man's side. The bulletproof vest crumpled sideways.
Even as his body was shoved sideways, Jackal swung his knife in a wide arc. He was aiming for Na Gang-in's leg again, but it cut only air.
Na Gang-in kicked the enemy's left arm as it swung through empty space. Jackal's dagger flew from his hand and embedded itself in the ceiling.
Jackal's condition was far from normal now. His body was twisted sideways, leaving his front completely exposed.
Na Gang-in drove a front kick straight ahead. His heel buried precisely into Jackal's torso.
Jackal was flung backward, crashing into the wall before sliding down it bonelessly to slump on the floor.
The fight was over. Jackal was already unconscious.
Earlier in the battle, Jackal had asked Na Gang-in which agency he was from.
Na Gang-in answered.
"A PC bang."
Na Gang-in turned around and shouted toward the restaurant.
"If anyone's in there, bring a first aid kit!"
The restaurant's head chef, Oh Gyu-cheol, had gone downstairs, met THO Entertainment President Lee Tae-ho, and come back up. He had been on the verge of fleeing underground after hearing the gunfire.
But there was no need to run anymore. Hearing Na Gang-in's voice told him who had won.
Oh Gyu-cheol yelled back urgently.
"I've been holding down this place! We've got meds too!"
Oh Gyu-cheol rushed over from the restaurant with a large first aid kit.
There were no surgical needles in the kit, but plenty of disinfectant.
"We need a needle too."
Oh Gyu-cheol ran back to the restaurant and fetched sewing thread and needles used for cooking.
Na Gang-in bent the needle into a curve.
Jeon Ji-in, the AI, assisted with the suturing. Thanks to her, the stitches were evenly spaced, like something from a sewing machine.
Scarlett Kelly had misunderstood Na Gang-in as a special agent because of what Jackal said earlier.
As Na Gang-in wrapped a bandage around Scarlett's arm, he said,
"The wound isn't deep, but this is just emergency care. You need to get to a hospital right away."
She expressed her sincere gratitude.
"Thank you for saving my life. Special Agent."
Shin Eun-ha said,
"She must not speak Korean. Oppa, you know? This American lady got us all in trouble..."
Scarlett spoke in Korean.
"My grandmother is Korean."
"Oh my. Your Korean is flawless. Ho ho ho. Then why the English..."
Scarlett looked at Na Gang-in and said,
"This man is probably a secret agent the U.S. government secretly assigned to protect me. That's why he fought for me..."
"No, he's not? This oppas is Korean? Pure-blooded? A rice thief? He came to save me?"
The police SWAT team prepared their entry squad. They were armed with bulletproof vests, helmets, and submachine guns. Some carried assault rifles instead. A 5.56mm round from an assault rifle couldn't be stopped by low-level body armor.
It wasn't just the entry team getting ready. There was a support team too.
"All snipers are in position."
Police snipers were deployed not just on the ground but on rooftops of nearby buildings as well.
"What about that guy climbing to the roof of the seven-story building?"
"Nothing yet."
"There might be someone heading up with a hostage. Rooftop sniper teams, stay sharp."
"Yes, sir!"
The reporting officer returned to his post.
The SWAT commander asked the on-site command officer.
"Entry prep is complete. When's our negotiator arriving?"
"They left a bit ago. Other agencies are sending people too."
"Other agencies?"
"This incident is big. More than one or two outfits are sending their own."
It had been less than twenty minutes since police learned the building was taken over by armed assailants. Local precinct detectives and SWAT had mobilized immediately to surround it, but no news vans had arrived.
Some people in nearby buildings were filming the scene with their smartphones, casually, without much tension.
"Some kind of drill?"
"Not civil defense day today."
"Nothing serious, right?"
"Nah. No news hits."
"Whatever it is, film it good. Rack up those views."
A police spotter on building watch shouted briefly.
"First-floor entrance shutter's going up!"
Countless gun barrels on site snapped to aim at the entrance.
The mysterious group occupying the seven-story building was reported to be heavily armed.
Korean police don't use guns to catch criminals. That doesn't mean they can't shoot.
SWAT is an anti-terror special forces unit, and plenty of detectives come from special forces backgrounds. Even regular infantry vets had plenty of range time before discharge.
Everyone tensed, aiming at the entrance. Some fingers crept toward triggers.
A rear commander gulped and muttered,
"If anyone fires, whoever comes out'll be Swiss cheese in seconds..."
People walked out from the first-floor entrance. They were unmistakably unarmed civilians.
The on-site commander yelled into his radio,
"Hold fire! Eyes only! Civilians! Or look like it!"
A few of the escapees waved their hands.
That kind of gesture could be risky abroad. But no one here was idiot enough to shoot over a wave.
The SWAT commander ordered his men,
"Escort them out! Get intel! Terrorists might be mixed in. Split 'em into small groups! Stay frosty!"
The on-site commander directed,
"We need inside info! How they got out, who's left in there, everything!"
Detectives latched onto the rescued.
The people eagerly spilled what they'd seen.
"Three guys with guns burst into the cafe, aiming to shoot us. Man, I thought we were dead."
"How'd you survive..."
"Pardon?"
"Uh, nothing. How'd you get out?"
"This one customer suddenly jumps up, beats the crap outta them. Bam bam. Insane."
Another customer gave a thumbs-up.
"That uncle was the best."
The detective couldn't wrap his head around it.
"They had guns, right? Did the customer have one too?"
"Nah, why would he?"
"Then they didn't shoot him? Fake guns?"
"Real deal. Blasted at him."
"What? Then how's he..."
"Blocked the bullets."
"Huh?"
"Hurling tables around to stop 'em."
Guests from the seventh floor answered similar questions.
"Bullets? He dodged 'em."
"Say what?"
"They fired, but he evaded every one."
Another chimed in from the side.
"Flying all over dodging."
"Yeah, yeah. Dude was legit soaring."
The detectives who'd questioned escapees from the building gathered.
They reported to the on-site commander.
"The guests are acting weird."
"Says he blocked bullets."
"Dodged bullets."
"Was flying."
"Not just one or two saying it."
"Mass hysteria from panic?"
The commander rubbed his face with his palm.
"All on drugs? What kinda nonsense is this?"
"Terror with hallucinogenic gas?"
"That exist?"
"Otherwise, it don't add up."
"Driving me nuts. Breach team's ready?"
"Yes."
"Gas masks on entry. Just in case."
The heavily armed SWAT team entered the building.
They cleared the first floor. As intel suggested, it was empty.
The second floor was all cafe space. They found five subdued armed militants in the cafe.
The cafe owner and two customers had stayed behind to guard them. Two were aiming pistols at the downed foes.
Word of civilians taking pistols to watch the bad guys had come before entry, so the team warned instead of shooting.
"Drop the gun!"
A reserve lieutenant shouted,
"You're cops?"
A trailing detective stepped forward, flashing his badge.
"Police. See the uniforms?"
"Phew."
The two with pistols sighed in relief, lowering and setting them on the floor before backing away.
They added,
"These bastards are terrorists."
The detective asked quickly,
"Terrorists? They confessed?"
"Huh? No, they stormed in with guns, so obviously terrorists... Right?"
Cell service inside was still spotty, but radios worked fine.
"Second-floor cafe: five suspects confirmed. Subdued. Matches outside intel."
- Support team's entering. Hand off to them and proceed up!
The armored team climbed stairs floor by floor. Precinct cops handled detailed sweeps per level.
Between fifth and sixth floors, they found THO Entertainment President Lee Tae-ho.
Lee Tae-ho was aiming a pistol at an enemy.
The lead operator aimed back and yelled,
"Drop it!"
Lee Tae-ho threw his hands up high.
"Yay! You're here! Cops are here! That was rough! Hurry up already!"
His right hand still gripped the pistol.
"Drop the gun!"
"Oh!"
Lee Tae-ho slowly set it down. The SWAT team leader approached, picked it up, and said,
"Sir, you could've gotten shot... What the—why so many guns on your belt?!"
Lee Tae-ho had all the pistols Na Gang-in tossed in the hall tucked into his waistband.
"Well, didn't wanna lose track managing them, so I collected..."
The leader confiscated them all and passed back.
"Seriously, you'd get shot like that."
"I'll be careful next time."
"You planning to get tangled in this again?"
"Huh? No, never."
The SWAT team leader eyed the four downed on the stairs.
"How'd you subdue these?"
"Wasn't me. Just bam bam and done."
The leader was exasperated.
"Downstairs they said blocking or dodging bullets, here it's bam bam. What the hell does that even mean..."
One operator shouted urgently.
"Booby trap! Explosives!"
Everyone tensed.
"Freeze! Touch wrong and boom!"
The leader asked the explosives guy.
"Can you disarm?"
"Yeah, but takes time. Evac civilians first, then demo."
Lee Tae-ho stretched his foot toward the trapped stair.
"This okay..."
Operators recoiled in shock.
"Hey!"
"Don't!"
Lee Tae-ho explained.
"It's already disarmed."
"What?"
"Safe to go up. Folks from seventh passed here fine."
SWAT finally reached the seventh floor.
Oh Gyu-cheol stood at the entrance, bowing politely to the SWAT team.
"Welcome. I'm Oh Gyu-cheol, head chef at Penelope."
The operators' guns were all aimed forward—right at him.
Seeing the muzzles, Oh gulped and asked carefully,
"You know who I am? You should..."