Immune to All Poisons
A crescent moon hung in the night sky.
Min Si-hyeon gripped her radio as she surveyed her squad members, each holding their weapons at the ready.
"This is the Execution Team. All forces are now in position. How's Baek Ya-seong's prep looking?"
"Roger that. Operation commences in exactly five minutes."
Beep───
With the confirmation that preparations were complete, Min Si-hyeon set down the radio. As she checked her firearm, one of the squad members standing nearby approached her.
"Captain, are you sure it's okay to leave that factory entirely to Baek Ya-seong's assassins? I mean, they're skilled and all, but just five of them against..."
Unlike this second factory with only about eighty guards, the one assigned to Baek Ya-seong had roughly 150. Nearly double the numbers, plain and simple. Sure, their goal was just to steal intel rather than fight head-on like Min Si-hyeon's team, but everyone knew combat was inevitable during the extraction. And if a fight broke out and they couldn't slip away cleanly, those five would be facing 150 head-on.
Of course, the subordinate asking wasn't ignorant of Baek Ya-seong's reputation. Assassins were an elite profession for geniuses only—no one else could cut it—and only the best of the best joined Baek Ya-seong. Those five had to be top-tier fighters. But even so, five against 150? Outnumbered and outgunned. There was a reason "overwhelming odds" was a thing. If they could use rifles or grenades like Min Si-hyeon's team, maybe. But pistols and daggers alone against that many? It seemed impossible.
Min Si-hyeon let out a scoffing chuckle at her subordinate's concern.
"Don't worry about it. Those assassins are strong. Especially that Baek Se-rin..."
Trailing off, Min Si-hyeon recalled her first encounter with Baek Se-rin. The bodycam footage of her in combat, the aura she'd sensed in person, the grip of their handshake. Min Si-hyeon had always believed no one could match her. Not when she enlisted, not when she was scouted by her superiors, not even when she crushed all those hotshots to become leader of the Execution Team. No real rivals in her life.
But Baek Se-rin was different. The instinctive hackles rising during their handshake, that gut feeling from countless life-or-death battles ringing alarm bells—it was still vivid. And the speed in that bodycam footage? Even Min Si-hyeon couldn't track it fully.
She continued, "Anyway, no need to spell it out for you. Point is, if Baek Se-rin's leading them, they'll handle it with room to spare. Quit fretting and finish checking your gear."
"But Captain, you're leaving it so vague..."
"Tch."
"Ah, got it..."
A sharp glare sent the persistent subordinate slinking away. Silence fell, broken only by the quiet clicks of weapon checks. When the five minutes ticked down, Min Si-hyeon shouldered her weapon and moved.
"Operation starts now. Disable their comms."
"Yes ma'am! Deploying now!"
No sooner had she spoken than an EMP burst from their parked vehicle, blanketing the area. Chaos erupted from the distant factory—immediate effect. Min Si-hyeon raised her weapon.
"Everyone, ready to fire."
"""Ready to fire."""
Grenade launchers loaded. Targets: the factory's sealed shutters. Streetlights and moonlight barely pierced the dark as Min Si-hyeon sighted in.
"Fire!"
Six grenades streaked out at her command. Massive explosions shredded the shutters, signaling the op's kickoff.
Five minutes before kickoff.
Me and the Baek Ya-seong quintet were in position, ready for battle. More precisely: Kwon Ji-yul and Kim Woo-jin at one entrance, Jeong Yoon-hyuk and Lee Kang-woo at the other. I was perched by a window on the factory roof.
Min Si-hyeon would've questioned my spot. Our job was extracting intel from runners, after all. But Jin Yeon-ah had stressed something before we launched.
"Pride?"
It was a joint op for the mission, but also a pride clash, per Jin Yeon-ah. If the Execution Team carried it, Baek Ya-seong's rep would tank. So she urged minimal reliance.
"Ha, obviously. Leave it to us, miss."
Trust like that? No backing down. And honestly, we could. So we planned to clear the factory ourselves. That's why I was on the roof.
Before Min Si-hyeon's go-signal, Kwon's voice crackled in my in-ear.
"Told you, it's fine. You think I'd scam you?"
"Ahem... anyway, seriously, it's good."
I cleared my throat, remembering the Back World's parade of liars. But her worried hum lingered over the in-ear. Whirr── whirr── The drones hovering beside me swayed side to side.
What she'd "prepped"? These three drones at my side, per my request. And their purpose? Point to the extinguisher-sized canisters underneath. Filled with enough toxic gas to flood the factory and then some. More precisely: gas so lethal, a whiff kills in five minutes.
Why'd I ask for this? Efficiency, duh. We had to wipe everyone except a few top brass. Better to use tools than chase 'em myself.
As I tapped a canister, Kwon sounded incredulous.
"Dunno why, but yeah, my body's immune. No worries."
Obviously, my immune to all poisons mod. Poison's like a friendly "morning" to assassins. In the game, chugging tea or eating meant death by toxin half the time. So I added immunity to my build. Antidotes were rare, and fiddling with partial resistance was a pain.
Can't say that, though. I shrugged.
Kwon laughed heartily.
"Come on, no way I'm a freak. It's just... y'know, immune to all poisons."
"...Grandpa?"
Swap "freak" for "immune to all poisons," and she grandpa-zones me. I smacked my forehead. In 2046, martial arts lore's toast, huh? Never thought I'd see the day.
Suppressing a retort, I drew my blades from their holsters. The five minutes were up.
Boom───!
A distant explosion cut the silence. Through the window below, I saw the goons panicking, shouting and scrambling.
I tapped my in-ear. "Kwon Ji-yul, drop the barriers."
She'd hacked their internals ages ago. Clang, clang—barriers slammed down inside.
"Rest?"
Only then did I drop. Crash───! Dagger hilt shattered the glass—plenty big for me and drones. Roped up, I rappelled in fast.
"Our turn to roll."
Drones followed. Canisters hissed—
Pssshhhhhh─────!!!
Toxic green fog flooded the factory in seconds.
Now it was Baek Ya-seong's time to shine.