Cruise Ship (2)
In that instant, the chat exploded.
Go Cheon-su's eyes widened as he stared at the mobile crane right in front of him.
What the hell is that?
It was something he'd never even considered. Caught off guard, he could only gape blankly.
"Go Cheon-su!"
Jin So-ryeong had already hopped down from the now-stationary mobile crane and came running over, shouting at him.
"I've got your rescue! This should reach the cruise ship no problem!"
Go Cheon-su sized up the crane with his eyes. It was massive for a mobile unit—easily hundreds of tons. The horizontal boom, fully extended, would stretch dozens of meters.
"Lieutenant Colonel, where the hell did you find something like this?"
Amazed, Go Cheon-su paused. Jin So-ryeong had come down from the passenger seat, which meant someone was in the driver's seat.
Turning to look, he spotted a man there.
"Who's that?"
"An acquaintance of mine. He says he was waiting for me to show up. Apparently, the soldiers here mentioned it before they left."
"For real? He's been waiting here all this time...? That's wild."
Whatever the details, he got the gist. The fact that this guy had prepped a mobile crane while waiting for Jin So-ryeong meant the cruise ship had been docked like that for a good while.
And that nagged at him hard.
What the fuck is going on?
From the viewers' reactions, it didn't seem like the ship had lost power and was just floating there. The only guess left was that they were too scared to dock at the pier.
But if that was the case, why the hell hadn't they left already? What was keeping them here?
"Go Cheon-su!"
No time for pondering—the ground kept shaking like it was mocking him. Jin So-ryeong pointed at the mobile crane and yelled.
"This guy's gonna maneuver the crane for us. You hop on the work platform at the end of the boom and cross over to the cruise ship!"
Vroom.
No sooner had she spoken than the mobile crane rumbled toward the nearest pier end to the cruise ship.
Go Cheon-su and the driver followed Jin So-ryeong's frantic waves, sprinting to the spot.
That's when it happened.
Rat-tat-tat.
Gunfire echoed from not far off.
This is...
Bang. Bang. Rat-tat-tat.
It wasn't just one burst. Dozens of shots rang out in clusters, putting Go Cheon-su's nerves on edge.
Suicide or not, if soldiers were charging in, who the hell were they?
"Lieutenant Colonel! You got a gun?"
From the airport, Jin So-ryeong's group hadn't had any visible weapons. He hadn't asked why till now, but he needed to know.
"A gun?"
Flustered by the sudden gunfire herself, Jin So-ryeong shook her head at his question.
"No. We ran out of ammo, and for some reason the guns started corroding. Had to ditch 'em before it spread to the plane."
"Fuck."
Go Cheon-su warned her.
"Lieutenant Colonel, that's gotta be the 7.5 Division I told you about heading this way."
The Ingok Port crew wouldn't come back. And if they didn't have guns, who else was shooting?
"If we run into them, it's 100% bad news. We gotta hustle."
With that, he hopped onto the crane's work platform with Heukgu.
"Hurry!"
He had no clue how they'd made it here so fast after that late airport landing, but their tactics were obvious. Probably using more bait. With their lives on the line, who knew what horrors they'd unleash next? They had to bail now.
"L-Lieutenant Colonel!"
The driver climbed aboard too, yelling. Jin So-ryeong hesitated, then shouted back.
"Go on ahead! I'll follow later!"
She asked the crane guy to operate it. He climbed into the cab, slammed down the outriggers, and raised the boom slightly. Jin So-ryeong went over, talked briefly, then dragged him out and took the seat herself.
"Wh-what the hell!"
The shoved-aside man panicked. Jin So-ryeong stuck her head out the window and yelled.
"Angle's good, right? Just this lever to extend the boom? Get your ass on the platform!"
"What the...?"
"I'll make my own way! You go! You've waited for me this long—don't wait anymore!"
The man froze at her shout, glancing helplessly at Go Cheon-su.
Shit.
But Go Cheon-su couldn't do jack about it. Close or not, the guy had to board to survive. Jin So-ryeong clearly planned to extend the boom and cross later herself. Impossible for a civilian—no handholds, just crawling dozens of meters up a slanted steel tube.
"Hurry!"
Jin So-ryeong yelled at him anyway.
"You go quick, then I can too! Move it!"
It was bullshit. No way she'd survive left behind.
From the chats, Jin So-ryeong had that hardcore soldier backstory. So Go Cheon-su had one job now.
"Get on!"
He jumped down, grabbed the man's arm.
"We go together!"
"B-but...!"
"If you don't, you're shitting on the lieutenant colonel's resolve! Before we all die for nothing, get your ass up here!"
The man still hesitated, but Go Cheon-su dragged him onto the platform.
That's when it went down.
Vroooom!
A van screeched up and braked near the mobile crane.
We're fucked...
Sure enough, a familiar face stepped out.
"Hold up! Wait!"
The company commander. The guy who'd led part of the 7.5 Division at Daejeon Complex Terminal came running over, unarmed. Three more piled out of the van, rifles in hand.
Boom!
Then another vehicle slammed into them, turning them into roadkill.
What the...?
Chaos on chaos. And out of the car that crushed the soldiers stepped someone totally unexpected.
"You fucking bastards!"
Park Chang-sik, the Daejeon Express Bus #2 driver. He snatched up an undamaged submachine gun from the wreckage and aimed at the company commander.
"How many people you gonna make die, you psycho trash?!"
He looked like he'd seen every horror on the way here.
"Die!"
Fuming, he fired at the commander.
Bang!
"Argh!"
It grazed his arm. The commander grimaced and staggered.
Bang!
The second shot nicked his shoulder.
"Urk!"
Not many Korean guys couldn't shoot straight. Park Chang-sik, now braced properly, would nail a vital spot next time.
Ting!
Unless there was cover.
"Aaaah!"
Using the mobile crane as a shield, the commander scrambled toward Jin So-ryeong's cab.
"Help me! That crazy civilian... Gahk!"
His plea cut short as Jin So-ryeong flung open the driver's door, smacking him.
"Urk!"
The commander tumbled to the ground, rolling.
"Park Chang-sik!"
Go Cheon-su seized the moment to yell.
"Over here!"
"...Huh?"
Park Chang-sik, still raging, spotted him and blinked in shock.
"Y-you!"
"Yeah, it's me!"
No time for chit-chat. Go Cheon-su briefed him quick.
"We're taking this to the cruise ship over there!"
The destination didn't fit the madness, but whatever.
"Hop on! We go together!"
"Huh? Oh! Th-there's a way out?"
Even with escape in sight, Park Chang-sik had scores to settle. He rushed the downed commander.
"Hold up! This fucker at least...!"
Click.
But fate fucked with him—the gun was jammed, no more rounds.
"Wh-what the hell."
"Park Chang-sik!"
No time to fix shit.
"Just come on! No time!"
"Dammit! But...!"
"Don't come, we leave without you!"
At Go Cheon-su's shout, Park Chang-sik clambered aboard with the gun.
"Lieutenant Colonel!"
Everyone aboard now. Jin So-ryeong worked the lever.
Thud.
The boom shot out fast.
Go Cheon-su whipped around to check the ship. The propellers were churning, small waves rippling at the stern.
"Ah."
All he could do was sigh.
Who knew what was "good," but Go Cheon-su gritted his teeth and focused.
Yeah, still...
The ship wasn't moving full speed yet. At this boom extension rate...
"Shop."
He yanked open the shop window in a flash.
One humble item remained.
Without hesitation, Go Cheon-su selected the copper wire and hit purchase.
Whoosh.
It materialized in midair and dropped toward his head.
Thud!
He dodged slightly; it landed on the platform. The others gawked.
"Wh-what the...?"
"Where'd this come from...?"
They all looked up, but nothing was there.
"Perfect timing!"
Go Cheon-su scooped it up, ignoring the fuss. As expected from "copper wire"—thick, sturdy braid with killer grip for the situation.
"Park Chang-sik! Gimme that!"
"Huh? Th-this?"
Park Chang-sik handed over the gun. Go Cheon-su cleared the jam, extracted the crumpled round, detached the mag—empty.
No rounds left...
He reassembled it, then lashed the wire to the gun body.
"Wh-what're you doing?"
"Just in case."
Go Cheon-su kept eyeing the closing gap to the ship. It was picking up speed now.
Vroom-vroom.
As the platform neared, he whirled the gun-on-wire overhead.
Still too far.
Not close enough to jump. Not even for him. Rope alone wouldn't cut it.
Clunk.
The boom hit its limit and halted.
"Sh-shit, big trouble."
"Still too far..."
"Everyone, back up."
Luckily, no railing dead ahead. Easy jump structure.
"Y-you, what're you really planning?!"
Park Chang-sik asked again, but Go Cheon-su didn't answer.
He'd just spotted something. Eyes locked on it, he left those words and leaped off with a kick.
"Everyone, just wait quietly."