Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Chapter 141. What Nonsense.
【Coordinates: 16.440044, 47.598485】
While minor events unfolded in South Korea, Kwak Chi-young escaped Eritrea, landed at Seyoun Airport in Yemen, and then traveled for about four hours by vehicle.
Tatatatang—
As they passed through a stretch of land where only sand was visible, sand kicked up towards the front of the vehicle with the sound of gunfire.
The car had no choice but to stop. Simultaneously, Kwak Chi-young, Na Seon-hwi, and the 666 Unit members in combat gear inside the car drew their weapons.
Of course, the firearms had been acquired beforehand through a broker they met after leaving the airport. This indicated just how perilous the current situation in Yemen was.
“Everyone, calm down. I’ll go out there.”
“The Branch Manager could be in danger.”
“You’re more likely to die if you go out.”
Kwak Chi-young immediately opened the rear door of the car and walked out with his hands raised. After some time, figures armed with guns slowly approached from beyond the ridge opposite them, pushing through the sandstorm.
There were about a dozen of them. One of them walked right up to Kwak Chi-young and lowered the mask that covered half his face.
English, not Arabic, flowed from his lips.
“It’s been a while, Kwak.”
“I can’t ask if you’ve been well.” Fahad.
The man’s identity was Fahad Ibrahim, the commander of the Northern Mobile Command of the Yemeni government forces.
“If you asked that in this situation, my subordinates would shoot you first.”
Fahad said so, gesturing to his subordinates beside him with his head.
“How fearsome.”
“So, you came all this way to meet someone?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t say who when you contacted me, but who is it? Someone you wanted to meet from our side?”
Kwak Chi-young hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fahad and said,
“Hounds.”
“You mean the Hounds we hired?”
“Yes. Can you arrange a meeting for me?”
Fahad’s expression soured.
“Are you perhaps trying to recruit them as your people?”
“If possible.”
Fahad’s brow furrowed further, but he soon relaxed his expression.
“Honestly, that will be difficult.”
“Why is that?”
“Don’t you think others might have approached them before you?”
This time, Kwak Chi-young’s expression hardened.
“So, there were others who came looking for me.”
“Rather than looking for them, it was those they rescued from a rebel trap who made the offer.”
Kwak Chi-young had also gathered various pieces of information before coming to Yemen.
“That must be the incident where a government VIP was reportedly rescued with great difficulty.”
“Seeing as your information about this war-torn country is still so fast, it seems your skills haven’t dulled, Kwak.”
“So, where did you recommend them?”
“FEROX.”
It was the name of the company considered the best in dispatching mercenaries.
Kwak Chi-young’s expression turned serious as he opened his mouth.
“If they even refused FEROX’s offer… it wouldn’t have been easy.”
“And yet, you still want to meet them?”
“I’ve come this far; I can’t not see them.”
“Come over the ridge. From there, our vehicles will guide you to the camp.”
Kwak Chi-young returned to the vehicle and followed Fahad’s instructions. After driving for a little over an hour, they arrived at a camp set up beside a sand canyon.
Yemeni government soldiers at the entrance and throughout the camp watched Kwak Chi-young’s group with vacant yet sharp eyes.
In that situation, Kwak Chi-young, after getting out of the car, led only Na Seon-hwi and Ahn Deok-chil further inside, guided by Fahad.
Two tents were set up separately, about 100 meters away from the government camp.
“Did you deliberately set them apart?”
“They requested it. Anyway, go and talk to them. And about the item from before, you can hand it over without issue, right?”
In response to the question, Kwak Chi-young took out a note from his pocket and handed it over.
“It’s the coordinates where the items are hidden. It’s a bit old-fashioned, but it won’t be bad for the government forces to use.”
“Oh, good.”
The reason Kwak Chi-young could meet Fahad, a government official, after entering the war-torn country was to hand over firearms, ammunition, and other equipment he had hidden while working as a lobbyist in the past.
“I hope you like it.”
“…It’s not empty, is it?”
“It’s not far from here. And have I ever lied about something like this?”
“If lies and silence aren’t used with the same meaning, then you haven’t.”
Fahad had been betrayed by Kwak Chi-young in the past.
But now, transactions were more important than emotions, so he put aside past grievances.
“Can’t our positions change depending on the situation and timing?”
“That’s not wrong.”
With that reply, Kwak Chi-young led the 666 Unit members towards the tents and entered.
Click—
At the same moment, Na Seon-hwi, who had taken the lead just in case, had a gun barrel pointed at his temple. He couldn’t even react, as he felt no presence.
“Who are you?”
Kwak Chi-young, standing a little behind, answered instead.
“A person who came to offer a deal.”
“…A deal?”
“More importantly, I heard there were two. Where is the other one? Is he in the tent next door?”
Click—
At that moment, a rifle was pointed at Ahn Deok-chil’s head from behind.
“Are you looking for both because you want to die?”
The one holding the rifle was a large man wearing a mask with only eyeholes cut out.
He had appeared without a sound, with a height well over 2 meters and a bear-like physique.
“I didn’t expect to be caught off guard so easily.”
“It would be best not to move unnecessarily.”
The man inside the tent had already drawn a pistol with his other hand and was pointing it at Kwak Chi-young. Of course, that man was also wearing a mask, just like the large man.
“I am Kwak Chi-young from Korea. Are you two Hounds?”
“That’s what everyone calls us.”
“Can’t you tell me your names?”
“Why would I?”
Kwak Chi-young remained awkwardly standing at the tent entrance, with a gun pointed at him.
“Are you not even going to let me sit?”
“Just say what you have to say.”
“I want you to work with me. 2 million dollars per person per year. Plus 50,000 dollars for each special mission completed. In US dollars, of course.”
It was a considerable amount for mercenaries, but Kwak Chi-young couldn’t help but make the offer after seeing the skills of the two individuals who had approached him undetected.
Meanwhile, the man with the pistol turned his gaze to Na Seon-hwi’s combat uniform.
“I refuse.”
“Are you serious about that….”
Bang— Thud.
With the gunshot, the bullet passed through the sleeve of Kwak Chi-young’s jacket, knocking off only one button to the floor.
“……”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“…We will withdraw.”
At that reply, the large man behind them, still aiming his gun, stepped aside.
Kwak Chi-young confirmed this and quickly led Na Seon-hwi and Ahn Deok-chil away from the tents. Na Seon-hwi cautiously spoke up.
“Branch Manager… are you alright?”
“Hoo—! Their skills are no joke, more than I expected.”
“But they are clearly not easy to handle.”
Kwak Chi-young agreed.
Even if they couldn’t be swayed by money, he might have been able to persuade them if they could talk.
But the Hounds wouldn’t listen to any words, and they had brought death right to his doorstep.
“It was a wasted trip. If I couldn’t recruit them, I intended to at least make a request… but I couldn’t even bring up the topic.”
Kwak Chi-young muttered and took out his phone. Inside were photos and data of Baek Shin-woo, whom he had intended to request an assassination for.
“Given their current state, it would have been difficult to even make a request. Shall we just eliminate them?”
To that question, Kwak Chi-young walked towards the government camp and then turned his head back towards the tent from earlier.
“…Is that possible?”
“Well, that’s….”
“Even though the Hounds are currently aiming at us?”
At that reply, Na Seon-hwi also looked back.
A small man had emerged from the tent and was standing there, aiming a sniper rifle at them. It meant he wouldn’t let them go until the situation was over.
“I think my judgment was short-sighted. They are true professionals.”
“It’s truly a shame.”
Kwak Chi-young then returned to the car with a bitter expression.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, in the tent Kwak Chi-young had just left, the large man approached the smaller man.
“We should have just killed them.”
A calm voice replied to the chilling murmur.
“Hold on, Rick. If it were just the two of us, maybe. But since Commander Fahad knows us, it could become a headache before we find him.”
As he replied, the man lowered his sniper rifle, which he had been aiming, as Kwak Chi-young’s car completely disappeared from his scope.
Then, a tattoo on his left wrist was revealed.
A white iris. In its center, a thin, black, hexagonal star was embedded, resembling an eye. It was the symbol of the Triad Eye.
“Still, they’re from the 666 Unit, aren’t they, Brother Hector?”
The large man who replied also had the same tattoo on his left wrist.
The identities of the two mercenary Hounds were Hector Hammond and Rick Watson. And both had returned to the past after experiencing death in their lives 12 years later, about a year ago.
“There will be another chance next time.”
The reason the two recognized the 666 Unit was because the unit insignia was attached to the combat uniforms worn by Na Seon-hwi and Ahn Deok-chil.
“Ah! We need to find the Commander quickly.”
“Let’s check again after finishing this mission. If Mansu also returned to the past like us, he’d be creating a contact network. We’ll have to wait for that to be completed. The Commander would be waiting for that too, if he’s also here.”
“Ah… I miss the Commander.”
Hector patted Rick’s shoulder, who mumbled sadly.
“We’ll see him someday.”
“Can’t we just go to Korea? We might find the Commander there.”
“That again?”
“You never know.”
“It’s more complicated there than where we operate. Besides, we can’t be sure if the Commander was in Korea at that time. It’s the same now.”
Hector’s scolding words made Rick’s expression even more bitter.
“Or, should we have asked about the Commander when we were getting FEROX?”
Rick asked, but Hector shook his head.
“The Commander and we have no connection now. If we ask someone we know, it might seem strange.”
“But we found FEROX through a different route than before. Could the Commander have been involved?”
This was something Hector also found strange.
He knew from his previous life that FEROX had all died during the Yemen VIP rescue mission.
He had inserted himself into the Yemen contract, just in case Shinwoo appeared there.
However, instead of finding Shinwoo, he only saved FEROX, who was in danger.
“What you’re saying isn’t wrong, but… we still need to be careful. Today, the 666 Unit coming to find us is an example of that. That’s why we’re hiding our true identities.”
“Hoo……”
At Rick’s sigh, Hector changed the subject.
“It might not be the case, but if it’s Mansu, he might have already found the Commander.”
“Because both are Korean?”
“That’s the most likely reason. Besides, Mansu has skills we don’t.”
The two continued talking and entered the tent to sit down.
“Why don’t we try getting real phones with our actual names right now?”
“As I said before, don’t you remember what we’ve done for the past year?”
“Ah……”
They had completed various requests under the name Hounds. Then, they killed any 666 Unit members they encountered.
Simultaneously, Hector and Rick’s notoriety as a mercenary duo operating in the Middle East and Africa grew.
Their true identities could become targets for hostile forces, which is why they wore masks and hid their faces even when meeting others.
“Once we find the Commander or Mansu, everything will be resolved.”
“Until then, we’ll have to kill everyone we can deal with.”
“Let’s take care of those guys from earlier if we get the chance too.”
Rick grinned sinisterly, looking in the direction Kwak Chi-young had disappeared.
“Sounds good.”
“For now, let’s finish the current contract properly until the remaining period. We have to move camps again tomorrow.”
“Ok—!”
With that reply, Rick returned to his tent.
Meanwhile, Hector was organizing his belongings when he put on his mask and drew his pistol again, aiming it towards the tent entrance.
“Whoa— Whoa! Hold on.”
Fahad, the commander of the government forces, stood in front of the tent.
“…What is it?”
“I received a call from someone looking for you. They said their name was Murad.”
Fahad extended the satellite phone he was holding.
Hector took it, lowered his pistol, and brought it to his ear.
“Why are you contacting me here?”
[I thought your satellite phone was off!]
Hector checked the satellite phone, wrapped in a bag, inside his luggage. When he pressed the button, it didn’t even turn on.
“It seems to be broken.”
[No wonder I didn’t get a reply to my message… I told you to take a new one.]
“So, what did you call about?”
[They said they want to entrust you with a request. A 2 million dollar request.]
“Didn’t we say we don’t take other requests while on a mission?”
[I know. But….]
Listening to his reply, Hector’s mind flashed back to Kwak Chi-young, whom he had met earlier.
“Was the person who made the request Korean?”
[Uh? I don’t know if they were Korean, but they were Asian. Chinese? Korean? Japanese? Something like that?]
“Did they tell you where we are currently on a mission?”
He was also puzzled as to how they had even found the Yemeni government stronghold in the first place.
[Ah… that….]
“Let’s end our relationship here. I’ll look for another broker.”
Click—
The call ended like that.
“Commander Fahad. You don’t need to connect calls from that person to us anymore.”
“…Understood.”