Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Mayor's Escape
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Run. Escape. Flight.
Grand getaway. Tucking tail. Strategic retreat.
Humanity's time-honored survival strategy, with countless synonyms.
What is its essence? Physical movement through space, or mental withdrawal from a specific situation?
My vacation plan success rate is currently plummeting toward the negative.
Vehicle No. 1 was donated to the Special Task Force. 25% force loss. It's like this from the start.
The remaining three vans were precariously racing along Neo Incheon's outer loop road.
Far off, beyond the forest of buildings, the sun was setting.
A red, massive, beautiful sunset.
The sun is going down.
I'm not even a gunslinger, so why do I have to face this majestic scene?
What are we running from right now?
From Neo Incheon's pride, the city hall's elite Special Task Force?
Or from our own pathetic, grubby lives?
Maybe at the end of this outer loop road, freedom isn't waiting, but another form of restraint.
But it doesn't matter. Who cares about that stuff.
At least in this moment, inside this rickety van with halfway decent AC, I'm free.
And above all else.
"I'm hungry."
The loud rumble from my stomach made Sniffer, who was gripping the wheel, jump in surprise and glance at me through the rearview mirror.
"What did you just say..."
"I said I'm hungry. Isn't it time to eat? The sun's already setting. Look at that beautiful sunset. Doesn't it look just like... yeah, perfectly grilled bacon?"
"......"
Whether moved by my poetic metaphor or just floored by the absurdity, every gaze in the van turned to me.
All their faces clearly showed the question: 'Does this guy even realize he's been kidnapped?'
Of course I do. That's exactly why we need to eat.
"Look over there, folks. The golden arches are tempting us."
The spot I pointed to: near the outer loop road exit, a familiar M-shaped logo was shining brightly.
Drive-thru.
A blessing of modern civilization. An oasis of modern society where you can buy high-calorie happiness without leaving your car.
"Are you insane? Do we look like we're in a position to grab burgers?"
The woman driving yelled in disbelief.
Her nickname... Leo...
Leona, was it? Black Hound's lone woman.
"You're the ones who aren't grasping the situation. Listen up. There's that old saying: even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal. How much more so for a getaway? A hungry soldier can't fight, and a hungry fugitive can't run far. This is basic military strategy."
I started brazenly persuading them. This was crucial advocacy for my vacation—no, my survival.
"Plus, a drive-thru is perfect camouflage. Who'd ever imagine kidnappers who snatched Neo Incheon's mayor casually ordering burger combos? This is the reverse psychology great strategists throughout history loved to use! A tactic that strikes where they're unprepared!"
"......It kinda sounds plausible now, Sniffer."
"Snap out of it, Leona!"
Sniffer barked, but even his eyes were wavering.
With his enhanced sense of smell, he'd probably caught the aroma of logic in my words first, along with the imagined scent of french fries.
"Alright, ten burger sets and ten chicken burger sets. Large sizes, obviously. Oh, make all the colas zero sugar. Gotta keep some conscience. And five boxes of twenty-piece nuggets. Sauces half sweet chili, half Cajun. Apple pies for everyone, too? Ice cream in chocolate..."
"Wait! Hold on! Who's paying?!"
I chuckled and pulled a thick wallet from my jacket's inner pocket, tossing it over.
"Use this."
Sniffer's eyes went wide as he caught the wallet.
"Whoa... whoaaa!"
He was probably overwhelmed by the thick stack of 50,000-won bills inside.
These idiots, though.
Don't they know the first thing you do when you grab a hostage?
Wallet, watch, rings.
You snag whatever you can grab on the spot, separate from the ransom.
But these naive mutts only now realize 'Oh, he's got money!' when I hand over the wallet myself.
Embarrassing to be kidnapped by amateurs like this.
In the end, unable to resist temptation, the mutts—no, the young folks—obediently turned the wheel toward the golden arches.
Moments later, the van filled with the smell of burgers and fries.
Ah, this decadent aroma.
Nom nom—
I took a big bite of my burger in satisfaction.
"So, how'd you all end up doing something like this? You all seem like young folks."
As I mumbled through chews, Sniffer paused with a ketchup-drenched fry halfway to his mouth.
"......Just hard to make ends meet."
Black Hound's leader, Sniffer—Kim Ki-hoon, twenty-five. Enhanced olfactory superhuman.
"I've had a sharper nose than most since I was a kid. Not quite superhuman level... just a dog nose."
His ability shone in the quality control section of a sausage factory.
He could pick out defects from the slightest scent differences, making him the factory's ace.
But that was it.
When the factory went fully automated, machines took his job.
His delicate nose was no longer needed.
"College tuition's too damn expensive, so I figured I'd do some day labor."
This time, Leona from the driver's seat spoke up. Physical enhancement type. Simple but reliable power.
But Neo Incheon's construction sites were battlegrounds for far superior skilled and powerful ability users.
A mere C-rank physical enhancement couldn't even get her foot in the door. Her dream of earning tuition that way crumbled.
"In the end, this was all that was left."
Their stories were more ordinary than expected.
Squeezed by the world, pushed out by the system, young people taking the easy path.
The shadow of the superhuman era.
In a world where everyone's special, being averagely special means nothing.
Like extras in the original story.
I felt a twinge of pity. Very slight.
Of course, that pity couldn't outweigh my golden vacation dreams.
"So, what's your endgame? What're you planning with my ransom?"
"I wanna open a shop. A little hot dog stand."
Sniffer said.
"I just... wanna go back to college."
Leona said.
Such humble, wholesome dreams.
But the means to achieve them were all wrong.
Crime can't be justified—no, whether it can or not isn't my business. The problem is these amateurs' methods are ridiculously inefficient.
At this rate, forget a hot dog stand—they'd be eating prison slop in Ganghwa Correctional before they could even set up a street cart.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh—
Something poured down outside the window.
Not rain.
Not snow.
Starlight.
Like the entire Milky Way dumped out, brilliant and sparkling particles of light adorned the asphalt.
And as the curtain of starlight parted, a girl appeared before us.
A hero costume blending navy and gold, a bit tacky-looking.
Her dazzling golden blonde hair fluttering.
"A single beam of light cutting through the darkness! Your North Star, Polaris, has arrived!"
And above all, her green eyes burning with sheer willpower.
Polaris.
"Mr. Mayor! Are you okay?! I'm here!"
Her voice was desperate, earnest.
Ah. We're screwed.
Another obstacle in my golden vacation plan.
"Ha! A C-rank hero?"
"That girl from the bank last time!"
Black Hound's remnants piled out of the van, sneering.
"We got jumped last time, but it's different now!"
"Perfect! Let's grab that hero too and double the ransom!"
"We've still got ten guys left! Our teamwork could take even a B-rank!"
They were confident.
Buoyed by baseless courage from still having nearly ten comrades and years of synergy.
"Hey, hey! Don't do it! Just run!"
I yelled urgently.
"That girl's way stronger than she looks! C-rank on paper, but not just any C-rank! She's B-rank, no, higher! Her rank's low just 'cause of bad achievements! Run, quick!"
Sincere advice from the heart. A desperate cry to protect my vacation.
But how did it sound to them?
"Why're you defending that hero so much?"
"Defending?! I'm just stating facts!"
"You two looked kinda cozy at the bank. Don't tell me... something going on?"
"What nonsense is that?!"
"Don't worry. If she's precious to you, Mr. Mayor, we'll treat her nice. We'll take you both as lovely hostages."
Wrong.
I said no.
No, you dumb dogs!
I'm trying to protect my vacation!
Why does my sincerity always get twisted like this?
"No, really, she's strong!"
"Wow, Mr. Mayor's going that far... true love."
"Touching, Mr. Mayor. But what can we do? We prefer action flicks over romance."
No communication.
In the end, they charged at Polaris.
The tragedy born of failed dialogue.
Black Hound members howled battle cries as they rushed Polaris.
"W-Wait!"
The result was.
"Starlight Shot!"
"Argh!"
Polaris didn't dodge. She didn't need to.
Starlight shards erupted from her fingertips, precisely bombing the villains' shoulders and legs.
"Gah!"
"M-My leg!"
"H-How is this C-rank?!"
Physical enhancement users' fists bounced off her starlight shield before they could touch her.
Sniffer's prized scent-guided marksmanship was useless.
Overwhelming.
An utterly overwhelming skill gap.
This wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided massacre.
Not C-rank hero vs. multiple C-rank villains.
Like a pro boxer against neighborhood elementary kids.
Then, Leona blocked Polaris's path with the few still resisting.
"Sniffer! Go first!"
Leona shouted.
"Your hot dog shop! I'll come eat there for sure! So succeed, no matter what!"
"Leona...!"
Tears welled in Sniffer's eyes.
Ah, what noble, beautiful friendship.
My precious vacation threatened again by third-rate villains' melodrama.
Sniffer, grasping the situation, grabbed my arm and pulled.
"Now! Let's go!"
"Hey! We go together!"
"I can't waste the time Leona bought with her life!"
I yelled, but Sniffer shook his head.
"Mr. Mayor!"
Polaris, assessing the scene, leaped over subdued villains and charged us.
Starlight energy condensed at her fingertips.
"No!"
Leona threw herself in Polaris's path.
"Move! Give me back the mayor!"
"Can't! Won't! The mayor's our future!"
Bam!
Polaris's starlight bullet pierced Leona's shoulder, but she clung to Polaris till the end.
That brief gap.
I climbed into the van, and it sped off.
"Mr. Mayor! I... I lost you again......"
Polaris's wail echoed from behind.
After subduing Leona, she desperately chased us, but the distance had already widened.
The remaining two vans fled again.
In the rearview, Leona and the other gang members being subdued by Polaris shrank smaller.
"Damn it!"
Sniffer beside me slammed the wheel, wailing.
His shoulders trembled faintly in grief over losing a friend.
Watching him, well...
A slight pang of conscience crept up for deceiving everyone.
Very slight. Like a flea liver.
Siya. Your sparkling sense of justice is truly dazzling.
Sniffer. Your hot camaraderie is truly moving.
Sorry, but I still don't wanna work.
The more dramatic and tragic this kidnapping gets, the more pity people will feel for the poor captive mayor.
That piled-up sympathy will convert straight to sick days for me.
Of course, assuming everything goes according to plan.