Chapter 69

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Translator: Ace

Chapter: 069

Chapter Title: Terminal Sergeant Kim Yo-han - [6]

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Kang Jun-chi's height was perfectly average. Standing among the hulking Physical Enhancers, he'd blend right in and disappear.

But right now, among the Awakeners, Kang Jun-chi stood out more than anyone. He practically glittered. Like he had a sun strapped to his back...

Kang Jun-chi stood there like a sun god incarnate.

Only his worshippers could cheer at the descent of the sun god. Everyone else couldn't even look straight at him. And me?

Ah, this feels amazing.

I was reveling in the fear and anxiety flickering in the eyes of the Special Task Force members. Savoring their utter bewilderment.

It had to be disorienting for them. Even their leader, Han Hee-seok, clearly hadn't anticipated this. Following orders from non-Awakener trash inevitably makes even Awakeners that pathetic.

Kang Jun-chi kept talking.

"Why are you all just standing there? I said come kill me too! Can't you hear me! ...Feels like you really can't hear. Is this mic busted... Won't you answer? You disgusting bastards make all that noise and now you shut your mouths, thinking I'll just leave! ...Power button? Can't see it, press it for me... You Busan scum, I said answer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me―!"

Kang Jun-chi's final words boomed like thunder (he'd finally turned the mic on).

Whether crushed by his sheer presence or overwhelmed by the mic's volume, the assembled Special Task Force members stepped back.

The retreating members fell silent. Then froze in place.

No threats escaped their lips, and the knives and Hunter rifles in their hands all pointed at the ground.

The Special Task Force members just stared holes through their radios, waiting for orders from above in this absurd situation. Specifically, orders from Special Task Force Leader Han Hee-seok.

But even Han Hee-seok wouldn't have any brilliant commands to give.

After all, it had only been four years and a few months since Gates first opened. Who could have gotten used to these superhumans? Who knew how to handle an Awakener who could overwhelm an entire legion single-handedly?

I approached him and spoke.

"Thanks for coming, seriously."

Kang Jun-chi didn't even turn his head. Still glaring at the Special Task Force with rage-filled eyes, he lowered the mic and replied.

"That squares us for calling me to the hotel last time... Anyway, there sure are a lot of knife-wielding bastards. Fucking hell. Looks like nearly twenty. They're all Force Field Blade users, right?"

"Probably?"

"This is insane. Stay close and keep an eye on those pricks. I feel uneasy not knowing when they might lunge with those blades..."

Ah, so it wasn't rage in his eyes after all.

Those were eyes filled with anxiety. Kang Jun-chi's gaze hadn't left the jagged blades of the Special Task Force members.

To show up here despite feeling such intense assassination threats—that was truly impressive.

Was it loyalty to me?

That was part of it, sure. But this incident had clearly rattled Kang Jun-chi deeply.

Forcing Awakeners into service, then killing powerful ones outright because they were "hard to control."

It had hit two trigger buttons for him. And so, the god had descended to earth.

"You get three minutes. Anyone still here after that dies by my hand."

Kang Jun-chi declared, and not even thirty seconds later, the Special Task Force members vanished from the scene.

They retreated like defeated remnants of an army. No clashes had even occurred, yet they fled in panic.

And cheers of victory echoed out.

"We won!"

Incheon citizens, officials, Hunters, and Awakeners gathered here all roared in triumph.

I was a bit surprised to spot Naito mixed in among the cheering crowd.

That non-Awakener scum obsesses over his image. Like the day the Special Task Force's Awakener mobilization issue broke, when he stayed silent on HuntWeb with his lips sealed. I figured he wouldn't show at a spot that could turn ugly in the news.

I never expected him to come help me, risks and all. Though hiding among the crowd like that was pretty ridiculous...

"Joon-chi hyung? Seeing you here is reassuring and all, but if you're here, who's watching Seoul?"

Kang Jun-chi gave a curt reply to Seok Jang-sil, now back in human form.

"Not my problem?"

"Not yours, but mine! If Behemoth or the monsters around it pop up in Seoul, what happens to me living there?"

"Eh, if Behemoth moves, someone'll report it...?"

Baek Dam-bi spoke up, apparently having overheard.

"If you're worried about Behemoth, I can check it out."

Seok Jang-sil turned to her.

"How?"

"By opening a Gate..."

And then Baek Dam-bi did exactly that.

As she closed her eyes and extended her hand, a purple shimmer rippled in front of her. That confirmed she could really open Gates now.

Purple light. The hue inside a Gate... A few who'd seen one before widened their eyes in surprise.

Once the Gate expanded enough, Baek Dam-bi stepped inside.

With the Special Task Force gone, it was time for the victors to chat idly.

HuntWeb comrades and my Hunter team crowded around me, chattering away.

"Whew, Kim Geuk, you must've had it rough! But what gave those guys the confidence to come arrest you? Is there even a way to catch someone with Teleportation?"

I answered Im Hyeong-taek's question.

"They probably figured I'd come quietly."

"No way they're that brain-dead, right? They must've had some plan to swarm you, but now they've slunk off so pathetically... We'll never know what it was."

Meanwhile, as many people clustered around me, Kang Jun-chi's side was equally mobbed.

Kang Jun-chi's followers. They wanted to know why he'd come here and what he planned next.

"Joon-chi, you got pissed at the Special Task Force and came, right?"

"And...?"

"So what now? You can't just end it here, right? We've all gathered—let's do something!"

"Like a group dinner? I already ate, but..."

"Not that! You didn't abandon Seoul's defenses just to chase off the Special Task Force, did you?"

For a brief moment, a flicker of unease crossed Kang Jun-chi's face.

Seeing that, I realized he'd truly only come to block the Special Task Force. No grander purpose—just pure emotion driving him here.

But the other Awakener Hunters, without my sharp dynamic vision, didn't notice.

They seemed eager to achieve something more alongside him. They kept discussing.

"True, all we've done is stop Kim Geuk's arrest. Nothing's really changed. They could try again, and the Special Task Force is still under that lunatic Han Hee-seok..."

Amid the back-and-forth, Baek Dam-bi emerged from the Gate.

My round girl shouted.

"Behemoth's moving inside the Gate...!"

As everyone stared at her, Kang Jun-chi flinched.

"Behemoth's moving?"

The Incheon officials listening behind us looked horrified too. The mayor snapped out of his stunned daze and hurriedly made a call somewhere.

Meanwhile, the Awakeners saw this as an opportunity.

HuntWeb's ElmayaCayo—no, Kim Hyeong-man—spoke up.

"Then what's to debate? We head to Seoul and drive out Behemoth while we're at it."

"You mean tell Kang Jun-chi to just head back?"

One Awakener Hunter asked with clear dissatisfaction, and Kim Hyeong-man laughed.

"Not just Kang Jun-chi—we all go! Everyone together to Seoul. What do you say?"

Kang Jun-chi pondered briefly, then nodded.

Decision made. We were heading to Seoul just like this.

Kang Jun-chi probably figured escorting himself with all these gathered Awakeners would be a win. The Awakeners were thinking the exact opposite.

Soon, Park Mi-hyeong called a contact and summoned two 45-seater buses.

The gathered Awakeners split up and boarded.

Thus, buses loaded with Awakeners began crossing the vast lands of Incheon.

Our bus headed toward this country's false capital, Seoul.

And on the internet? Total chaos.

"Dam-bi, I'm hurt. You can open Gates now and didn't call to brag?"

"All I heard was grim stuff—like you risking your life fighting the Special Task Force over me, or fleeing with vicious fugitive Kim Seok-hee. How could I? Am I a psycho or something...?"

We were chatting idly on the moving bus, my round girl and I.

Kim Yo-han, peering at his smartphone, suddenly yelled.

"The internet's blowing up right now!"

Sure enough, checking online confirmed it.

Boards across sites were flooded with news about us.

From recent articles like 'Kang Jun-chi Abandons Seoul...' to ones just posted like 'South Korean Awakeners March on Seoul...'.

"Usually, media doesn't cover Awakener news much. How do they all know? No media blackout from the government?"

"Domestic outlets are quiet, but foreign media picked it up first. Translations spread everywhere."

Chatting with Kim Yo-han, I clicked the 'South Korean Awakeners March on Seoul...' article.

The comments reacted like North Korea was invading.

These reactions quickly spread to every Awakener on the bus. Talk turned to the topic.

"Why are these idiots freaking out? It's not like we smashed a few tanks."

"Foreign media's portraying us like coup rebels. Check the description—hilarious: 'Buses filled with several legions heading to the capital Seoul...'."

It wasn't exaggeration, really.

Look at the Awakeners on this one bus. More than a few could raze a company or battalion solo.

And above all, Kang Jun-chi was aboard. One bus carrying more than a legion's worth of forces.

"No wonder they're panicking. Plenty of precedents abroad."

I asked Kim Hyeong-man.

"Like what?"

"Well, groups of Awakeners drinking and badmouthing the government get wasted and storm parliament, actually toppling the state? Different circumstances here, but look at Taiwan—military coup succeeded via Awakeners, I think?"

"How?"

"They had military Awakeners. Some division commander swayed them, loaded them on the subway pretending it was leave, captured all the government bigwigs. Follow-up forces took the capital proper, now it's civil war... China and North Korea ban Awakeners gathering in numbers because of stuff like that."

A division coup from the provinces would be tough in Korea. Troops can't march on the capital without reason—fake a drill, tightly control soldiers and officers from posting on SNS.

Moving large forces is glaringly obvious and hard. Block the roads midway, and it's all for naught.

Awakener ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coups? Not so much.

If Awakeners want to topple the government, getting to the capital is easy. Walk, bike, public transit. Hard for the state to spot and block civilians-like Awakeners.

No need for supply follow-ups. Grab a box of hardtack and go.

Cleanup afterward is the issue, but seizing the capital and key sites beats full military ops.

Explains Han Hee-seok's obsession with surveilling Awakener gatherings.

But all that effort wasted—dozens of government-dissatisfied Awakeners now marching on Seoul.

Unprecedented for the Korean government.

Of course, the bus Awakeners weren't that grave about it.

Just look at Kang Jun-chi sidling up to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

"Do I stink? It's bothering the hell out of me."

"Dunno. Why?"

"Haven't showered properly. No open bathhouses, so I crash hotels to wash when I get sticky..."

"Still holing up underground?"

"Safest spot, obviously."

I was about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to reply when Seok Jang-sil cut in.

"Kim Geuk hyung, Joon-chi hyung? We're going to Seoul, sure... but then what?"

Kang Jun-chi shot back at Seok Jang-sil's question.

"What do you mean, 'what'?"

"The big shots will line up asking why you're doing this, what you want. So, how far have you two thought this through?"