Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: How on Earth?
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Oh Gyu-cheol, the head chef at Restaurant Penelope, grew anxious.
"Didn't you see me on TV? I've been on a bunch of shows."
Oh Gyu-cheol had appeared on several cooking variety programs. Occasionally, he'd even popped up on shows unrelated to food.
The SWAT team leader raised his hand, signaling his men to lower their weapons. Then he asked,
"Oh Gyu-cheol?"
"Ah! So you have seen me on TV! Haha. I was worried you wouldn't recognize me."
"The guys passed out downstairs and the bomb disposal—were those you?"
"Pardon?"
"And then you waited here for us?"
Oh Gyu-cheol waved his hand with a laugh.
"Come on, I'm just a chef. You think I'd handle something like that?"
"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense."
"Ah! But that guy runs a food truck, so being a chef doesn't mean he can't do stuff like that."
"Pardon? I'm not following what you're saying."
"Ah. Anyway, that's not why I was waiting."
Oh Gyu-cheol pointed toward the back.
"Officers, the injured are this way. Let's go."
"Pardon? Injured?"
The team leader followed Oh Gyu-cheol into Restaurant Penelope.
Na Gang-in, Shin Eun-ha, and Scarlett Kelly from OmegaTech were seated in chairs. Scarlett had a bandage wrapped around her arm.
The moment the SWAT team entered, Shin Eun-ha jumped up and cheered.
"Yay! The police uncles are here! We're saved!"
Scarlett said,
"The situation's already over."
"But it doesn't feel truly over until the police uncles show up with guns like this. That's how it was in the movie I filmed before."
"In the movies I watched, that's when things actually started. They relax thinking it's over, and boom—the bomb goes off."
"Don't say stuff like that in a situation like this. It's scary."
The team leader asked,
"Is there anyone else on the seventh floor besides you all?"
Shin Eun-ha quickly replied,
"No. Those jerks... the bad guys are tied up around the corner in that hallway over there."
The team leader moved there with his men.
Jackal and his subordinates were unconscious. Their hands and feet were tightly bound with cable ties.
Standing in front of them, the team leader gazed down quietly, then removed his gas mask and said,
"Why on earth did we storm in here so tense? The whole thing was already wrapped up."
"Tell me about it."
Another team member pointed to the bullet marks on the walls and ceiling.
"Captain, there are tons of bullet holes here. Looks like the firefight was no joke."
"We saw bullet marks on the second-floor cafe and the fifth-floor stairs too. This is insane. What the hell happened in this building?"
The situation was completely resolved.
The police questioned people as they exited the building. Before the SWAT entry, they'd asked quick questions to gather intel fast, but now they had time.
The detectives requested detailed accounts from everyone.
A customer rescued from the second-floor cafe said,
"There were three guys with pistols threatening us, and suddenly this kid starts bawling. The jerks got pissed and were about to shoot when some guy just... ugh."
The customer shuddered and trailed off. The detective swallowed hard and asked,
"Just what? Be specific, please."
"He went pow pow, smacked 'em, and tossed them around like that."
"No, I mean, not pow pow—give me details..."
"Like this..."
Another customer chimed in.
"Let me explain. It wasn't like that—it was this way."
Yet another added,
"No, from what I saw, it was more like this..."
The gestures people demonstrated to the detective all varied slightly.
The people rescued from the seventh-floor restaurant had plenty to say too.
"Then suddenly bullets came flying out of nowhere, slamming into those guys' torsos—thud thud."
"Did they die?"
"No. The bastards were wearing bulletproof vests, so they didn't die. But they got shoved straight back."
"Ah..."
"Even as they were getting pushed back, they fired their guns, but the guy just dodged and slash—took them out."
The detective pleaded with a troubled look.
"Sir, you're the seventh person to say 'he just did something.' Could you be more specific?"
The seventh-floor customer scratched his head.
"I'd love to."
"Then please do."
"How am I supposed to describe it specifically when it was too fast to even see properly? That's why I just said slash."
The emergency was over, but the scene remained hectic.
It wasn't just the site.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency was buzzing too.
A police executive scratched his head furiously.
"This is driving me nuts. Everyone's pressuring us to figure out what happened, but how can we explain without knowing?"
"Superintendent, urgent info-sharing request from the U.S. Embassy."
"Why are they rushing us like that? It didn't happen in the States. And stuff like this happens there all the time. What's so special? They enjoying the show from across the ocean?"
"It's about that woman with the gunshot wound to her arm."
"Ah, the civilian injury."
"Her name's Scarlett Kelly. She's the CEO of OmegaTech, an American company."
"And?"
"Apparently, it's a major player in U.S. military tech. With their CEO as the target, the Americans must be freaking out."
The superintendent's face hardened.
"Hmm... something feels off. You sure it's from the embassy?"
"An embassy staffer contacted us, but my gut says he wasn't just any staffer. CIA maybe?"
The superintendent sighed deeply.
"This already serious mess is snowballing. Where's Scarlett Kelly now?"
"En route to the hospital."
"We assign protection?"
"Uh? I don't know about that..."
"Just in case—put a couple on her. Tell 'em to arm up."
"Yes, sir!"
The superintendent sighed again.
"Whew. What the hell is going on right in the heart of Seoul?"
Scarlett called OmegaTech from the ambulance.
Finally got a signal.
Her aide at headquarters picked up.
- Scarlett? Calling so early in the morning... Ah, it's not morning there. Hope you're enjoying Korea...
Scarlett cut off the greeting and issued orders.
"Bump the company confidential server security level up one—no, two notches."
- Huh? Scarlett? Boss, two levels will make access a nightmare...
"Do it anyway. Right now!"
The voice on the other end shifted.
- On it. But boss, what's going on? A hack?
"I'll explain later. I'm in an ambulance—heading to the hospital soon."
- Ambulance? Why? You sick? Food poisoning?
She glanced at her arm. Na Gang-in had bandaged it on the seventh floor.
"I got shot."
A scream erupted from the phone.
- Oh my God! Scarlett! You're alive, right?
"If I were dead, a ghost would be calling you?"
- How bad? Life-threatening?
"Just grazed. I'm fine."
- What kind of nonsense is that? Bullets don't 'graze' painlessly!
"No time. Send security to secure Harrison now. Tell 'em to gear up heavy."
- Harrison? Wait, is he connected to you getting shot...?
Scarlett grimaced and explained.
"Harrison's the one who recommended that restaurant where I got shot. If he's behind this, grab him and hand him to the FBI."
- I'll get that bastard Harrison right...
"If he was used without knowing, protect him before the real culprits cut off loose ends."
- Ah, could be. Yeah, Harrison wouldn't do that.
"Exactly. So send security to secure him now!"
- Roger!
Scarlett Kelly was transported to the emergency room of a general hospital.
ER doctor Lee Jeong-hyeon had been waiting after hearing about the gunshot victim.
The moment Scarlett arrived, he removed the bandage.
"Huh?"
The wound was already sutured with thread.
And the knots were perfectly even, like they'd been machine-stitched on a sewing machine.
He'd seen knots like this before.
"This is..."
Questions swirled, but treating the patient came first. He quickly contacted surgeon Kim Jung-seok and began care. Moments later, Kim Jung-seok came rushing in.
Lee Jeong-hyeon whispered to Kim Jung-seok,
"Same knots as that time, right?"
Kim Jung-seok whispered back,
"Stitch pattern matches, and it's not suture thread—regular thread. Yeah, same as before."
Surgeon Kim Jung-seok asked Scarlett,
"Who sutured this wound?"
Scarlett didn't know who Na Gang-in was. She suspected he might be a secret agent assigned by the Korean or U.S. government without her knowledge.
Now someone was asking about that secret agent.
She eyed Kim Jung-seok suspiciously.
"Why do you ask?"
"Pardon?"
"Sounds shady."
Kim Jung-seok froze, then fumbled,
"J-just curious. I mean, he treated a gunshot. Haha."
Her assistant Jessica snapped from the side,
"Doctor! You laughing in front of a patient?"
Kim Jung-seok quickly backed down.
"No, ma'am."
Scarlett scolded Jessica.
"You should've been that feisty with those jerks back at the restaurant."
"If I hadn't passed out, I would've!"
Assistant Jessica was Scarlett's friend. She'd knocked herself out hitting a table when the restaurant was taken over.
"Fine. Find out who that agent is."
Jessica caught on immediately.
"I'll ask the Korean side right away."
"Get treated first. Your head's bleeding."
"Me? My head? Oh! Eek!"
"Didn't notice?"
Police forensics experts entered the seven-story building to investigate, accompanied by military and intelligence personnel.
They checked each floor on the way up and arrived at the stairs between the fifth and sixth.
Two explosives experts examined the booby trap.
"Whoa. Disarmed it just like this."
"Yeah. Clean work."
"No professional gear, and in that short time—how?"
"Must've fully understood the bomb's structure to disarm it the simplest way. Look—even closed the lid after. Total overkill."
"Bomb-handling skills are top-tier."
The team reached the seventh floor. Plenty to investigate there too.
At the combat site near the air vent, they examined bullet holes and footprints on the walls.
"The traces we saw coming up were impressive, but this is next level."
"Check this. Enemy shoots, so he kicks off this wall, then the ceiling, then that wall—dodging bullets while advancing."
"Spiraled up the hallway walls dodging fire, then blasted the shooter from here."
"Based on the traces, yeah."
The investigator tilted his head.
"How does that even work?"
"No idea. How does it?"
A police expert said,
"We looked into him. Turns out he's a film martial arts director."
"That explains it. Guy shot a whole movie up here."
"Wow. Thought that stuff was all CGI or wires, but someone can actually do it."
The first-floor security guard had been knocked out by drugs, so he was sent to the hospital.
The others went to the local precinct for ID verification.
"Terrorists might disguise as civilians to slip out. No one gets missed—fingerprints everyone, thorough checks!"
Na Gang-in didn't go with the crowd.
He met detectives in a separate room at the station.
A detective laid building blueprints on the table and explained.
"Construction company changed mid-build. Design tweaks caused issues—ventilation ducts ended up big enough for a person, vents misplaced. They patched the wrong holes with interior cement later."
The detective pointed on the blueprint.
"Rope here, and you can rappel straight to the basement."
He showed the basement plans too.
"Drop to the bottom via that duct, bust through one wall, and you're in a large stormwater drain tunnel. Wide enough to crawl through."
Na Gang-in nodded, studying the plans.
"They told Lee Tae-ho to go out the first floor and negotiate with police, disguising some hostages as accomplices. To draw eyes to the entrance."
"Exactly. They'd slip out via vents to the stormwater drain in the chaos."
The police revealed the culprits' identities.
"Boss identified too. Nickname: Jackal."
The detective placed Jackal's photo on the table.
"International criminal—terrorism, robbery, kidnapping for hire. Interpol Red Notice."
"The others? Looked like mercenaries."
"Sharp eye. Yes. Jackal had only three real subordinates. Rest were hired guns. Picked ones fluent in Korean on purpose."
Na Gang-in said,
"So someone must've lured that American lady to the building."
"One of her company employees recommended the restaurant. U.S. investigators will handle that. But..."
The detective looked at Na Gang-in.
"Jackal's infamous internationally, tons of mercs, armed to the teeth—why fight them solo?"
AI Jeon Ji-in said,
"That's your core... duty?"
"Ah! So you just did what had to be done. Impressive."
"Uh... yeah?"
"So how exactly did you take them down?"
"Just did it, and it worked."
"Pardon?"