Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: 42. Paradise (5)
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Soldiers gathered.
Their gear was the same as what I'd seen back when we ran into those Chinese guys.
Every one of them was armed to the teeth with rifles fitted with laser sights and kitted out in full body armor.
They had grenades and all sorts of other equipment too.
Sixteen in total.
Just the combatants.
Workers didn't count.
No one among them looked harmless, but Kim Pil-seong was especially dangerous.
During our brief chat earlier, he'd mentioned serving in China right up until the brink of war.
Right before the war, what we fought weren't monsters—they were fanatics.
The man had hunted people.
Now he and his squad of trained killers were coming for me.
It was a nightmare scenario, but strangely, it put my mind at ease.
Like I was dreaming.
After imagining situations like this thousands of times—dying in them, killing in them, dying again—it almost felt familiar.
I hadn't told my neighbors about any of it.
No point dragging them into this mess.
This was my fight, one I'd started myself.
I didn't want to watch someone else die because of my stubbornness.
Of course, I'd put in a support request to Woo Min-hee, the one most involved.
The Legion crew had tracked me down and were gunning for me—I needed backup right away.
But after her chopper went down, all comms had cut out.
Signal jamming? Interference? No clue.
Maybe she was just ignoring me.
Not impossible if her old psychosis was flaring up.
That woman thrived on tragedy.
She'd manufacture it herself if she had to, inhaling the sorrow like a drug.
That rush from the grief—that was the core of her sickness.
Still, for all my cursing, she might send help.
But right now, I had to hold out alone.
"Four-man teams. Sweep the area with eyes on all four directions, check every suspicious spot one by one. Their only shot at us is a surprise attack. Keep 'em from getting the angle, trap 'em in the pit, and we're done. S-rank Hunter or not, he's still human. He ain't bouncing bullets like an Awakener."
Kim Pil-seong came off like a seasoned commander.
"Don't bunch up in one spot. He might have heavy firepower stashed."
The soldiers spread out loosely, covering each other as they combed every corner of my turf.
*Thud.*
Footsteps echoed right over my main bunker.
Heading up the hill?
"No exact position?"
One soldier shouted from directly overhead.
"Heard he's down the hill somewhere. Check below."
I'd blocked the main bunker entrance with a massive boulder.
Even I could barely squeeze in and out.
And it wasn't just the rock—I'd shoveled dirt to fill every gap.
Unless they had eagle eyes, they'd never spot it.
My ideal play was for them to find a decoy bunker and pile in.
But they knew my real base was downhill, so they doggedly searched around the main bunker.
"Got something! Looks like a vent here!"
They'd found it.
Footsteps scrambled as soldiers rushed over.
"Yeah, it's a vent alright. Never seen one like this."
"Pump in tear gas."
The soldiers lobbed in tear gas grenades.
As if.
One button fixed that little trick.
Hit the big red "Exhaust" switch on the vent control panel,
*Whiiiirrr—*
and the duct fans spun up full blast, reversing the flow and blasting their poison right back at them.
"*Cough! Cough!*"
"Shit! What the hell?!"
Their hacking coughs were the backlash.
"Fall back. Fall back."
The motion sensor blinked.
Dozens were lighting up at once, but one spot hadn't flickered since earlier.
Southwest side of the main bunker.
No enemies there.
*Click.*
I grabbed my rifle and recoilless gun, heading for the emergency passage.
Behind the main door was a secret tunnel hub linking to a bunch of decoy bunkers.
Thirteen doors.
Twelve to decoys, one to the garage.
I quietly opened the door marked "5" and hustled down the gangway I'd dug myself with the excavator and bulldozer.
Another steel door ahead.
No idea what was beyond, but I flung it open, gun raised.
Nothing.
Sensor was spot on.
I peered out through the bunker's observation port.
The enemies had set up a loose line along the main bunker's ridgeline, staring at the vent spewing smoke back at them.
"Chuck in a grenade."
"Hole's too small. It's got these tiny perforations like a showerhead."
Kim Pil-seong was annoyingly in a blind spot.
Hugging the edge of a tall trash pile in front of the bunker.
That wasn't Hunter instinct.
Soldier habit.
To me, it painted a clear picture of the man behind the Hunter mask.
"...Hoo."
Deep breath.
Go for Kim Pil-seong alone behind cover, or the clustered soldiers?
First option: one confirmed kill.
Second: up to five at once.
One Hunter, or five grunts.
No real dilemma.
I etched their positions in my mind, stepped out from the bunker, and fired the recoilless gun on the move.
The instant I broke cover, at least two soldiers spotted me and reflexively swung their rifles.
"There!"
Too late.
A sharp shout from behind me, and a fierce backblast roared out, kicking up dust and grass as it spat a black shell.
"Hit the dirt!"
A scream tore through, then the blast swallowed them.
*Boom!*
The explosion hammered the ground where soldiers had been milling by the vent.
Flames engulfed them, followed by dust and wind.
*Thud-thud.*
Amid the gravel rain, I ditched the recoilless gun and poured fire into the dust cloud.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Just hit one.
Two's better.
Three, and I could die happy today.
Mag empty—I tossed the rifle and bolted back into the decoy bunker.
*Clang.*
Door shut,
*Clang.*
another door shut,
*Clang.*
heavy steel door to main bunker sealed.
Back to square one.
Overhead, only stifled groans—no voices.
They were probably all prone, sorting themselves out.
About a minute later, Kim Pil-seong's voice boomed.
"Park Gyu."
My K-walkie-talkie crackled.
"You know there's no going back now?"
I didn't reply.
No need.
What caught my eye was the southwest sensor—dead earlier—now blinking nonstop.
They'd hit one of my decoy bunkers.
Three of them, from the lone camera feed inside.
One soldier pointed at the cheap cam.
*Squish.*
One button wipe, and their feed went black.
*Rumble!*
The ground shook as the bunker collapsed.
Three more down.
Five from before makes eight.
Halfway there.
Still half left.
Maybe more.
Couldn't confirm the recoilless gun's tally.
"Where's the entrance? Hey? The entrance—my men's dropping left and right!"
Kim Pil-seong's frantic shout came through the bug.
Who was he talking to?
"Gap under the dead tree roots? Got it. I'll check it out."
I sighed.
Kim Daram.
Kim Daram was feeding my position to the guys trying to kill me.
No idea why, but to her, I was apparently disposable now.
"..."
Not a new experience.
People around me drifting away, one by one.
But I'd thought some would stick forever.
Kim Daram—my junior, my spotter—was one.
We weren't married, but our teamwork crushed old-school Hunters who were legends in their prime.
Hell, I even gave her a million won at her wedding.
Her husband called me "that million-won guy."
And yet... this.
I shoved down the darkening thoughts and squeezed my eyes shut.
*Rustle-rustle.*
Sounds of them clearing rocks from inside the main bunker.
They knew where I was.
"Park Gyu."
Kim Pil-seong called from beyond the door.
"Never hung out much, but damn, you got no friends, huh?"
"..."
"Your own junior told me the bunker entrance, knowing it'd get you killed."
"What about my junior? Pretty cool, right?"
I snorted a response.
A hearty laugh echoed back.
When it died down, Kim Pil-seong spoke again.
"Get the welder."
*Click.*
"No need."
I told him as I unlocked the door.
"Opening up."
I eased back, slipping on my gas mask.
Sure enough, two tear gas grenades hit my space, belching white smoke.
I cracked the mask and faked some coughs.
"*Cough! Cough!*"
Frantic footsteps rushed in.
But.
*Thud!*
"Aaaagh!"
The stairs into my main bunker were a death trap.
Uneven steps to trip on, slicked with oil for good measure.
Primitive prank, sure—but effective.
*Crash-tumble!*
At least two went down.
White smoke filled the room—zero visibility—but I'd run this scene in my dreams a thousand times.
*Bang-bang-bang! Rat-tat-tat!*
Shooting fish in a barrel.
Then frantic return fire erupted from the other side, blindly hosing my bunker.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Bullets chewed random walls, ceiling, even the back wall.
Dead man's trigger, probably.
Smoke cleared: two bodies.
As expected—one ankle twisted near breaking.
"Boss."
Surviving soldiers' voices carried through.
"That guy's no joke in there."
They were spooked.
And not just them.
"The mutation dog had me shaking just looking at its face. Who the hell is this guy? Not an Awakener... right?"
The troops were rattled.
Half your squad wiped—even vets get cold feet.
No answer to that.
Probably hand signals.
Then Kim Pil-seong again.
"Professor."
He savored my callsign.
"Best of the best among us. But not an Awakener."
*Shing.*
Sword drawn, echoing from the open door.
"Just a regular human. Better trained, better emotional control, better fighter than most."
*Clang!*
Sword scraped the wall as a smoke grenade dropped at the entrance.
*Hiss—*
Spinning, spewing white fog.
What was the play?
I watched silently—through the haze, hands dragged the bodies out.
Didn't interfere.
Hated the mess in my bunker anyway.
Smart call.
*Clink.*
Grenades dropped where the bodies had been.
Three of them.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Three more followed.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Pointless.
Main bunker entrance was steep stairs.
Grenades from outside had limited angles.
Plus, a sloped apron before the last step, packed with dirt and sand in grenade-proof netting.
Hell, I'd rigged anti-grenade mesh at the door.
Take that down? Need dynamite at least.
Silence at the entrance—then a glint slipped from a blind spot.
Mirror.
*Bang!*
Smashed it instantly.
"How the hell are you still alive?"
Kim Pil-seong's voice, hoarse now.
"Pretty good."
I replied flatly, rifle trained.
He sighed.
"You know we'll win in the end, right?"
No answer, but it rang true.
I was holding, sure—but just holding.
Me alone against an army.
They had gear, numbers, time, even biology on their side.
And sure enough, Kim Pil-seong did nothing after.
Most terrifying tactic.
Forcing stalemate.
Grinding down the defender till they collapse.
*Rustle.*
I popped a glucose candy, relaxing my body.
Thoughts swirled, but I pushed negatives aside.
Eyes wide, waiting for a shift.
One chance, if it came.
Sleepiness crept in.
Like back in China.
Maybe after seeing so many deaths, sleep felt a lot like dying.
*Vroom—*
Soon, a truck rumbled up.
Stopped, then over ten sets of footsteps pounded in.
Reinforcements?
Nothing I could do but guess.
"Work status?"
Kim Pil-seong's voice.
"Almost done, sir. Load the warheads, and we're good."
Workers.
They'd dragged the airport crew here too.
"Chairman aboard?"
"Yes."
"Soon as work's done..."
Before he finished.
Gunshots cracked from the runway.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Pistol fire.
My pistol.
The one I'd sold Park Cheol-ju for a kilo of gold.
*Bang!*
"Aaaagh!"
Miserable scream from the airstrip.
The soldiers dead silent before me jumped up as one.
They scrambled up the hill, eyes on the airport.
I checked through the periscope.
Park Cheol-ju.
He was gunning down the workers.
Three already down, last one on his knees begging.
Park Cheol-ju's son-in-law, Gu Sung-jun.
"..."
No clue what went down between them, but father- and son-in-law were wrapping it up tragically.
*Bang!*
Merciless shot through Gu Sung-jun's forehead.
Fourth down. Park Cheol-ju boarded the plane.
*Whiiiirrr—*
Engines roared to life.
"Stop him!"
Kim Pil-seong yelled.
"Stop that bastard!"
*Vrooom—*
The vehicle that'd pulled up earlier peeled toward the runway.
But its roar drowned in another.
*Screeeee—*
"?"
This sound?
*Screeeee—*
No doubt.
Air-ripping thunder.
Fighter jet slicing high altitude.
"Who is that?! Which side?!"
Soldiers' sharp shouts.
Then my radio—silent ages—crackled.
Woo Min-hee.
"Senior, you still alive?"
She'd finally answered my call.