Chapter 166
Chapter 166
Chapter 166. Huh? It’s wriggling (2)
【49°08'45.1"N 2°06'17.9"E】
Wooooooong—
A drone hovered high above the forested outskirts northwest of Paris, France, deep in the night.
Jang Man-soo was remotely piloting the drone now. However, the drone’s movement suddenly shifted strangely, beginning to circle the abandoned warehouse below.
The camera mounted on the drone switched to infrared thermal mode. As it did, a group moving in the woods was illuminated in red light.
[This is MANDU. Four people 200m northwest, four people 170m northeast. Total of 8 approaching. Prepare for wind.]
Wei, who received the transmission from the abandoned warehouse, hardened his expression beneath his mask.
In front of him, Na Seon-hwi and the other 666 Unit members who had frozen upon hearing the name SHASS were tied up.
“All eight of them. Fully armed, right?”
[Judging by their silhouettes, yes. They must have hidden other trackers on them. They probably prepared for this because of what happened last time.]
This referred to the incident where Nam In-hwang and Moon Tae-beom, who had tried to kill Shinwoo, disappeared.
Of course, Wei hadn't been present before meeting his comrades, but he had heard about the situation and could recall it.
“That means we’ve walked into a trap.”
[I already requested support from FEROX as soon as the situation was confirmed.]
“170m—they’ll be here soon. How long do we wait?”
[Can you manage it? For your current physical condition, it’s been a long time since real combat.]
“I wasn't called the Ghostly Reaper in China for nothing.”
This conversation was in Triad Eye’s Code, so no one nearby could understand it.
[Didn’t you come up with that name yourself?]
“No, I didn’t! Just tell me their exact locations.”
Wei interlaced his fingers, tightening the gloves until they fit snugly.
These were no ordinary gloves. The base material was Kevlar, and the striking areas on the back of the hand and middle of the fingers featured ceramic studs.
This was equipment Jang Man-soo had made specifically for Wei’s combat specialty, which focused on hand-to-hand fighting.
[Do the K2 Gloves fit well?]
The name Jang Man-soo gave them was the official Kevlar Knuckle Gloves, shortened to K2 Gloves.
“They fit perfectly. And they’re sturdier and better than the ones I used before. The internal shock absorption is good too.”
It was thanks to the gloves that there was almost no impact when Na Seon-hwi smashed the car window earlier.
[That’s good. And I sent some appropriate reinforcements to France beforehand.]
“Reinforcements? I thought you just called FEROX.”
[These are even better reinforcements. They happened to be in France. The 666 Unit’s current position is 120m northwest. 100m northeast. They are also approaching cautiously.]
“I should get going soon too. But are you really not going to tell me who they are?”
[You’ll know when you see them. Just don’t try to kill them before recognizing them.]
After finishing the conversation, Wei met the eyes of Na Seon-hwi, who was busily racking his brain.
“Time to start the hunt. RABBIT, bury these guys.”
RABBIT was Meian’s call sign.
“Can I bury them without killing them?”
“It’s the same whether they die now or die buried. And since the enemies are coming, bury them all and then slip out to D4 point.”
“Enemies? How many are there?”
The previous conversation was in Code and on a separate channel, so Meian hadn't heard it.
“Eight.”
“Can’t I fight alongside you?”
“You might die.”
“Ah, come on, people only die once, right?”
Meian replied cheekily and unfolded the tips of two sticks she pulled from her pocket. The blades sprang out like ribs on an umbrella, turning them into Handaxes.
Wei sighed as he watched her.
“Don’t blame me for whatever happens.”
“If you aren’t going to live my life for me, then stop saying things like that.”
“…Channel 5. MANDU. KIRIN and RABBIT are moving together.”
[Ok—!]
Upon hearing the confirmation, Wei tossed the 666 Unit members into a pit with Meian and headed outside.
.
.
.
About 50m northwest of the abandoned warehouse.
The 666 Unit members were approaching their target while maintaining strict perimeter vigilance.
“This is Gamma. Delta transmission, what’s the current situation?”
The person who transmitted was Jonathan Moore, the commander of this operation and BLACK of the 666 Unit, TSF French Branch.
Shiobe Hisajiro of the Delta team, responsible for the opposite flank, replied.
[This is Delta. Distance to target point is 20m. Visual confirmation complete. No personnel have exited.]
“Moving into a pincer formation. As instructed beforehand, focus on capturing the enemies alive rather than the survival of our allies.”
[Roger.]
The identity of the enemy, which remained unknown to them, was the most crucial thing right now.
Jonathan signaled his subordinates using hand signals. Spaced 10m apart left and right, they approached faster than before.
At that moment.
Shhhweeeek—Thwack!
A sound cutting through the darkness, and a subordinate in the center collapsed sideways, hit by a bullet fired from somewhere.
“Sniper! Take cover behind obstacles!”
Along with the transmission, the subordinates hastily stopped and took cover behind trees or moved to the side.
[This is Delta. Direction of the enemy?]
Shiobe, only hearing the transmission from the opposite side, asked because he didn't fully grasp the situation.
“Cannot confirm direction yet.”
[That means they knew we were coming in advance. Could a tracker have been discovered?]
“I don’t know.”
[In this state, shouldn’t we consider canceling the operation? It could be a trap set by the Korean Branch Head.]
Their superior was Bastian Marchion, the French Branch Head, not Kwak Chi-young, the TSF Korean Branch Head.
“We need to report this up the chain first.”
[Can you do that now?]
They hadn't even confirmed the sniper position yet. They couldn't let their guard down as they didn't know where the next attack would come from.
Jonathan confirmed that there was nothing within the visible range of his Night vision goggles at their current location and contacted his superior, Bastian.
Since the contact was earlier than the planned operation time, a heavy voice asked with suspicion.
[...Is there a problem?]
“The current situation is that the Delta team has approached 20m ahead. However, a sniper was positioned there. We currently have one casualty in the Gamma team.”
[Is he dead?]
Jonathan looked at the subordinate lying motionless on the ground through his Night vision goggles.
“…It appears so.”
[So, it could be a trap.]
Bastian easily understood the situation.
“While the assumption that it’s a complete trap has some gaps, we request confirmation on whether to proceed as planned.”
[Hmm… No personnel have left the operational area?]
“That was the last confirmation.”
Bastian made a slight swallowing sound through the earpiece.
[We might have been played by Kwak Chi-young’s antics, but letting an enemy who goes this far alone is also a problem. What is the probability of mission success?]
“The current time is 22:23. The operational area is a low-lying forest zone, and since we couldn't find the sniper point, we couldn't deploy support there either. Since the enemy has a person capable of sniping in such a location, the success rate has dropped below 50%.”
This was an objective assessment, setting aside the skill and pride of the 666 Unit.
[If you say that, then it’s not good.]
“However, we judge that the enemy force is not large. If they outnumbered us, an assault would have followed the sniping.”
[If we proceed, even by force, what is the estimated scale of losses?]
“We should prepare for a minimum of 60% losses.”
[I should have sent more personnel if I knew this would happen. Still, proceed with the mission. Make sure you capture at least one alive who can talk. We will send support troops as quickly as possible.]
The order was given.
Jonathan immediately relayed the message over the radio.
“This is Gamma. Proceeding as planned.”
[Roger.]
After hearing the reply, Jonathan threw a hand signal. The remaining subordinates of the Delta team took their positions according to the signal and ran quickly toward the target point.
No matter how great the sniping skill, it was difficult to hit a moving target in the dark amidst obstacles.
Ting—
Simultaneously, the subordinates reached the abandoned warehouse and inserted a camera through a gap in the broken wall to check inside.
“…It seems like no one is inside.”
“What? Was the sniping just a diversion to buy time? Two of you wait outside. I’m going in alone.”
This was to prepare for an enemy ambush from outside.
Jonathan then carefully opened the unlocked warehouse door and stepped inside.
A flame flared up from a drum barrel in the center of the warehouse, illuminating the surroundings. And just as his subordinate had said, there were no human figures visible.
“Was it really just a diversion?”
While looking around, he noticed a patch of dirt that seemed hastily covered. When he touched the surface, he felt traces that something had just been buried.
“…No way.”
At that moment, something dropped from the ceiling.
Jonathan rolled backward in an instant, trying to aim his gun. But the shape that fell in front of him swung something to knock his muzzle aside, and the opposite hand lunged forward.
It was a strangely shaped Handaxe.
Hooong— Whooong—
“Everyone get in here!”
Shouting that, Jonathan dodged the Handaxe coming right at him and tried to draw his pistol and dagger.
The one rushing at Jonathan was the masked Meian. She held the Handaxes made by Jang Man-soo in both hands.
Clang— Kka-gang—
Meian swung without hesitation, deflecting the pistol and dagger he drew.
“Kugh—!”
In that brief moment, Jonathan realized Meian was a woman based on her slender body, curved chest, and waistline.
But the force behind each attack made him doubt that thought.
“?Power not??? (Your skill is quite something?)”
Jonathan frowned at Meian’s distorted voice.
Of course, during that time, both Handaxes were storming in like a tempest, making it barely possible to block or evade, let alone aim his pistol.
Then, hearing the Chinese coming from Meian’s mouth just now, he became puzzled.
“Chinese? (Chinese?)”
“You don’t need to worry about what country I’m from!”
Kka-ang—
The pistol, unable to withstand the impact of the Handaxe, finally slipped from Jonathan’s hand and fell to the floor.
Meian stayed pressed right up close, making it difficult for him to even reach for the rifle slung over his shoulder. And he realized that the subordinates he had called out to were suspiciously quiet.
‘What’s happening outside…’
Kwaang—
Before he could finish his thought, a car rammed through the wall of the abandoned warehouse, sending one of Jonathan’s subordinates flying inside.
“……”
Dust billowed up everywhere. At the same time, Meian paused her attack on Jonathan, shifting her gaze toward the breach.
As the dust settled slightly, a massive man became visible standing before the collapsed wall. He wore a gray head mask completely covering his head and face, and beneath it, desert-colored combat fatigues.
The man looked at Jonathan, who was standing near the warehouse entrance, and muttered as if greeting an old friend.
“It’s you.”
His voice carried genuine madness.
Because of that, Jonathan sensed that something had gone seriously wrong.