Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: A Master Doesn't Discriminate Against Weapons
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AI Jeon Ji-in spoke.
A semi-transparent hologram of the second-floor auxiliary deck appeared on the AR lens. It was as if he were x-raying the steel plates from below, making the pirates' positions crystal clear.
"This is good enough."
Na Gang-in stepped out onto the deck.
Jackal, from the second-floor auxiliary deck, demanded of Scarlett.
"You've put away the gun, so come forward now..."
Jackal froze. He could see Scarlett's face light up openly.
"Huh? Why..."
Suddenly, a flash of light erupted from the deck right below. At the same moment, a knife plunged into one pirate's body.
"Gah!"
Na Gang-in didn't target Jackal first—he went for the subordinate next to him. That guy's gun muzzle had been pointed at the deck.
The pirates panicked at the sudden turn of events.
"Wh-what..."
The leftmost pirate's gun muzzle shifted. Na Gang-in hurled a knife he'd grabbed from the galley. It streaked through the air like a laundry line and sank deep into the pirate's body.
"Argh!"
Na Gang-in was faster. He spun his body halfway around and flung the knife from his left hand toward the enemy.
The blade rocketed through the air at high speed and embedded itself in the foe.
"Ack!"
The enemy staggered backward, yanking the trigger. The gun fired, sending the bullet skyward.
Jackal on the second-floor auxiliary deck finally spotted Na Gang-in. Since he'd emerged from the deck door right below, the pirates hadn't noticed him right away from their vantage.
Already, three pirates had been skewered by knives—and in the exact order they'd been about to shoot.
Pirates knew the value of their own lives. Instinctively, they ducked behind the railing for cover. Jackal did the same.
Jackal yelled from behind his cover.
"Who the hell is that bastard?!"
Na Gang-in twirled the narrow kitchen knife deftly in his hand.
He'd grabbed four knives from the galley that were perfect for throwing. Three were gone now, each claiming a pirate.
Just one knife remained. Those were the only four good ones for throwing in the entire galley.
But there were still way more pirates left.
"Ji-in. Why are there so damn many of them?"
"Hey, you can't say it like that. They didn't look that numerous."
"Where'd you learn to make excuses that don't even hold water?"
"You've learned all the good stuff, huh."
Jackal peeked from behind the second-floor railing to check on his men. Three were already down, pierced by knives.
"Three taken out in seconds? Not with guns—with knives? Kitchen knives, no less?"
The pirates' clothes offered some slash protection. Yet those kitchen knives had punched right through.
A pirate beside him stammered.
"S-seems that way."
"What the hell is that guy?!"
"D-don't know!"
Lee Tae-ho whispered with a beaming grin.
"Mi-jeong-ah, it's Gang-in. We're saved now."
Jang Mi-jeong kept glancing toward Lee Min-ji.
"What about Min-ji?"
She desperately wanted to rush to her daughter, but she couldn't. Na Gang-in had stopped her with a look and a gesture.
Lee Tae-ho said.
"I've fought alongside him before. We have to trust Gang-in right now. Just do what he says."
Na Gang-in slowly edged toward Lee Min-ji. He'd overheard Jackal's earlier threat to shoot her.
Now, only Jackal and four pirates remained on the second-floor auxiliary deck.
Jackal pointed at his pirates and barked orders.
"You, shoot the little girl. You, shoot the pretty woman beside her."
A pirate asked with a confused look.
"Pardon? Not the knife guy?"
"I heard the Korean special agent who nabbed Jackal can dodge pistol fire. Figured it was exaggerated rumor."
Jackal glanced at the three pirates crumpled from knife strikes.
"The guy on deck threw kitchen knives and dropped three armed men. Has to be that special agent. Korean government must've attached him as an armed bodyguard for Scarlett."
"Then shouldn't we four concentrate our fire on him?"
"Word is that agent's fast enough to dodge frontal pistol shots and has jumps that let him scale walls. Jackal's goons probably got picked off wasting shots on him alone."
"Ah. So shoot the hostages first to throw him off."
"He's a government agent—he'll panic. Even better if he rushes to protect them. Shake him up like that, then..."
He directed the other two pirates.
"You two, pop up and shoot him."
He added to the first pair.
"And you guys join in on him then. Only way to nail him for sure is after rattling him."
"Got it."
Jackal raised three fingers.
"Three. Two. One. Blast 'em!"
The first two pirates sprang up.
Warning markers flashed around Shin Eun-ha and Lee Min-ji.
Jackal had no idea Na Gang-in was down to his last knife. Yet there were two people to protect.
Na Gang-in was already near Lee Min-ji.
He hurled his final knife. It streaked like hail toward the pirate aiming at Shin Eun-ha.
"Gah!"
Na Gang-in scooped up Lee Min-ji and bolted. Straight toward Shin Eun-ha.
Bullets thudded into the spot where Lee Min-ji had been.
In a flash, he was in front of Shin Eun-ha. He tossed Lee Min-ji to her like a pass, then spun around.
The pirate re-aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Na Gang-in's chest dead center. His clothes rippled from the impact.
Shin Eun-ha, watching from behind, let out a scream.
"Kyaa!"
Na Gang-in swept his hand across the nearby table.
It was a table laden with Korean dishes. Chopsticks too. Two metal ones ended up in his right hand.
He flung the chopsticks at terrifying speed. They flew like arrows, thudding into the enemy's body.
"Gah!"
Chopsticks packed less punch than knives, but they halted the pirate's shot.
The next two pirates rose, aimed at Na Gang-in, and fired.
Na Gang-in couldn't dodge. Doing so would leave Shin Eun-ha and Lee Min-ji exposed behind him.
Bullets thudded into his chest again.
Shin Eun-ha had seen plenty of how Na Gang-in fought back in Gangnam. There was only one reason he'd stand there taking bullets.
She screamed.
"Please dodge!"
Na Gang-in slammed his palm on the table. The chopstick holder leaped into the air.
He snatched chopsticks from midair. Six metal ones in his hand in an instant.
Na Gang-in hurled the metal chopsticks at the enemies. The six spread out like the ribs of a fan as they flew.
Only two found their mark out of six. One pierced a pirate's arm, the other his neighbor's shoulder.
The two pirates howled.
"Argh!"
That bought a moment's reprieve. He'd pulled all their aggro too.
Na Gang-in slid sideways to another table. Three dining knives lay there.
Metal chopsticks didn't stop them for long. The staggering pirates lifted their guns again.
Na Gang-in snatched a dining knife and threw it. This time, a proper blade sank into the pirate's body.
"Gurk!"
The other two pulled their triggers. No one was behind him now.
Na Gang-in sidestepped the shots while hurling the remaining two knives, one from each hand.
Knives thudded into the shooting pirates' bodies.
"Gurk!"
But they didn't drop. The pirates' clothes had some stab resistance, and the blunt-tipped dining knives struggled to deliver fatal wounds. Chopsticks had pierced better, ironically.
The three reeling pirates raised their pistols once more.
Forks weren't ideal for throwing at this range. And that table had no knives left.
Shin Eun-ha spotted a chopstick holder on a side table. She hurled it toward Na Gang-in, spilling metal chopsticks into the air.
Na Gang-in snatched them mid-flight and flung them at the enemies. Now he had plenty. The chopsticks flew in a machine-gun burst.
Metal chopsticks stabbed into the three pirates like arrows.
The pirates toppled onto the second-floor auxiliary deck.
Na Gang-in glanced up at the deck above, chopsticks slotted between his fingers on both hands.
No one rose.
"All down?"
"Where to?"
"The second-floor auxiliary deck connects to this ship's bridge."
Na Gang-in gathered the six chopsticks between his fingers into one hand and asked Shin Eun-ha.
"You okay?"
Shin Eun-ha rushed over and patted down Na Gang-in's chest with her hands.
"Who's worrying about who right now! You got shot... Huh?"
She felt something hard. Not skin or muscle.
She asked.
"What's this?"
"Bulletproof vest."
Na Gang-in wore a Dragon Plate bulletproof vest he'd crafted himself with AI Jeon Ji-in—not the mass-produced version handed off to Iron Man Industries for production and sales, but a reinforced custom job.
Shin Eun-ha punched his arm with her fist.
"I really thought you'd been shot!"
"You deserved that one."
"Damn it!"
Shin Eun-ha punched him again. Na Gang-in just took it and turned to Lee Min-ji.
"Isn't your sister being too much?"
Lee Min-ji nodded and asked.
"But why'd you take the bullets? Dad said the cookie uncle dodges them too."
"Doesn't hurt much even if they hit. So I just took 'em."
Shin Eun-ha stopped mid-punch.
"Damn..."
Most people on deck had watched the fight unfold with their own eyes. A few of the more timid had turned away, but most couldn't even think to look elsewhere.
They murmured.
"Wh-what just happened?"
"Did he seriously take down armed guys... with chopsticks?"
"Looked like he threw knives too."
"Either way, all the pirates are down, right?"
Lee Tae-ho threw both hands high and shouted.
"We're alive! We made it!"
Jang Mi-jeong drove a fist into his side.
"You're embarrassing us—quiet down!"
It wasn't something to be embarrassed about. Thanks to Lee Tae-ho's cheer, everyone fully realized they were safe. Cheers erupted everywhere.
"We're alive!"
"We won!"
"That young guy won it for us, but we're alive anyway!"
The cheers from the deck carried below too.
Scarlett had ducked under the stairs the moment the fight started. She jerked her head up.
"We won?"
Her secretary Jessica spoke fluent Korean.
"How?"
The words "young man won" reached them. Jessica looked flustered.
"No way—Na Gang-in again?"
Scarlett beamed.
"I knew it'd turn out like this! That's why I invited Gang-in!"
"You didn't invite him expecting this."
"Who cares? Results are what matter."
"You nitpick every process in research, but with Na Gang-in..."
"Enough!"
Scarlett bounded up the stairs.
"Gotta go meet him!"
Secretary Jessica quickly grabbed her arm.
"Hold on. Let me check first."
Jessica climbed ahead and peeked her head over the edge. The deck was in full festival mode.
"It's safe..."
Scarlett breezed past Jessica and mounted the deck.
The moment she was up, she flicked her hair back with her left hand and tossed her head dramatically. Then she strode toward Na Gang-in with a haughty expression.
Jessica watched from behind, shaking her head.
"Acting out of character always ends like that. What're you gonna do about that bird's nest hair."
Oblivious to her hair being a total mess bordering on disheveled, Scarlett said to Na Gang-in with poise.
"Na Gang-in-ssi. Good work."
"Hm?"
Na Gang-in frowned ever so slightly. Scarlett realized that wasn't it and immediately backpedaled.
"Ah? Uh. I only know a little Korean. Grandma taught me some."
"Don't suddenly pretend you can't."
"Sorry. Tried imitating something from a Korean drama."
"Figured as much."
She bowed her head sincerely.
"Thanks for saving me again. This time I really thought I was done for."
"Those guys had no intention of killing you. They wanted information."
"They want the access code to the classified server."
Scarlett sighed.
"Whew. After the last incident, we bumped the classified server's security rating up two whole levels. Now just knowing the code isn't enough to get in—they must not have realized."
"He probably got the contract around the same time as Jackal, same method. So he wouldn't know. But..."
Na Gang-in asked.
"Classified server?"
"Ah. It's our company's classified server. Can't say what's on it—classified and all."
Na Gang-in murmured softly.
"You pulling wild guesses without data now?"