Bullet Time
The Central dominated and controlled the Republic of Korea.
Among the many things it regulated with an iron fist, one of the most rigorously policed was drugs. In this world of 2046, narcotics were far more potent than the synthetic drugs from my original world—too powerful, in fact. Some insane countries even dosed their soldiers with them before sending them into battle, but the side effects outweighed any gains. That's why the Central cracked down hard on both use and distribution.
But whenever you ban something and build a wall around it, someone always drills a hole through. The Baekho Gang was one such group, smuggling drugs along Incheon's deserted seaside.
Crash─── In the faint beam of a flashlight, waves crashed against the shore. Two men with tattooed arms hauled up plastic-wrapped packets of drugs from the surf.
"Boss, found 'em."
"Damn, they hid this shit in a hell of a spot. Grab it. We've got a ton of spots to hit tonight—let's move."
"Got it, boss."
Hwang Jae-hyun, leader of the Baekho Gang. His men slung the bags over their shoulders and fell in around him as he strode off, the rest of the crew closing ranks.
"Lemme see... we had seventeen stops tonight, right?"
"One got wiped out last time, so sixteen now, boss."
The reply came from a guy walking beside him—one of their usual distribution crews had been erased, dropping the count to sixteen. And "wiped out" meant they'd caught the Central's eye.
"Tch... Told those idiots to watch their backs. Hope that shit doesn't splash back on us."
"They say it was clean, boss. No issues. Word is, Moonlight Society assassins handled it anyway."
"Ah, good. No leaks then."
Korea had plenty of assassin firms. The big names on everyone's lips? Top dog Baek Ya-seong, followed by Hwanghon and Moomyeong Yahang. The Moonlight Society was a lightweight compared to those giants. If they'd taken the job, no blowback on the Baekho Gang, Hwang Jae-hyun muttered.
Unfortunately for him, he hadn't accounted for one thing: the Moonlight Society that wiped out the crew had a line straight to the Baekho Gang.
And riding that line down was Baek Ya-seong's newest exclusive assassin.
Thud──.
"...Boss. Someone's there."
"What?"
A Baekho enforcer up front halted. Hwang Jae-hyun tilted his head. The unlit harbor path was pitch black, but when the crew shone their flashlights, it came into view.
Their ride, surrounded by piled-up corpses of their own men. And atop that heap, a woman perched with a stiletto in hand.
"Ah, you made it? I was waiting on this dead-end road, but you're quicker than I expected."
Drip──
Drip──
Fresh blood gleamed in the flashlight beams, trailing from her stiletto to the ground. A civilian would've screamed.
But these were Baekho Gang thugs who'd seen—and made—worse. And the woman looked too refined, too young. Even if she was an assassin, these were vets with over a decade in the blade life. Tension broke into mocking laughs from the crew and Hwang Jae-hyun alike.
"What the hell is that bitch?"
"They got taken out by her?"
"Fuckin' useless shits."
The stiffness melted into curses at their dead buddies. One thug advanced, pistol in left hand, flashlight in right.
"Hey, you come alone?"
"Hmm... no need for a crowd to bag you lot, right?"
"Kuhaha! This chick's a riot!"
She answered coolly, unfazed. The enforcer and boss sensed something off, but the advancing thug didn't. He leveled his gun, eager to crush her arrogance.
"Surrender now, and maybe I won't kill ya. Pretty face like yours—junkies'll pay top dollar..."
But before he finished──
Schluck───!
"Gurk..."
The stiletto pierced his temple in a flash, shredding his brain. His hand spasmed, dropping gun and flashlight. His bulk crashed down with a thud.
The woman yanked her blade free and scooped up the flashlight, setting it on the car hood. Light flooded her shadowed figure.
A heavy silence fell between the Baekho Gang and the woman. The sudden death snapped them to reality—she was no ordinary killer. Standoff held, neither side budging.
Until Hwang Jae-hyun roared, veins bulging in his neck.
"What the fuck are you waiting for?! Kill her NOW!!!"
His bellow shook off their fear. Alarmed, the thugs snapped to, grabbing weapons.
"Raaagh!!!"
"Die, you cunt!!!"
"Fuckin' bitch!!"
Blade-wielders charged with yells and swears. Gunmen hung back by Hwang Jae-hyun, sighting in and opening fire.
Bangbangbang───!!!
Earsplitting shots and shouts. She ducked behind the corpse pile as bullets flew.
Once she'd counted them all, she moved—slowly.
"Let's see... two, four, six... plus the ones I killed, that's fifty. Including the office nearby and the ones waiting in the car. Spot on."
Jin Yeon-ah had said there were fifty drug runners total. Nineteen in sight, plus the office crew I'd cleared on the way and the car waiters—exactly fifty. No runners, so I relaxed and moved.
"Where..."
Thugs closed in; muzzles flashed behind. I took a deep breath.
Suuu───
And whispered inwardly.
Bullet Time
The moment I invoked it, the world slowed—like time itself dragged. Charging thugs, flying bullets—everything sharpened into crystal clarity.
Bullet Time. Originally a game skill for handling gunfire, one of the basics given to players. True to its film technique namesake, activation made everything crawl. In-game, it lasted 1 real second (under 5 subjective), with a whopping 1-minute cooldown. Great effect, low versatility.
But damn effective. So in my mod, I tweaked it: 5 real seconds duration, 10-second cooldown. I thought I'd been fair.
If I'd known it'd go real, I'd have made it infinite.
Who'd expect this? Still, good thing I maxed physical stats beyond limits. Five real seconds stretched to 70 subjective for me.
They felt 5 seconds; I got 70. Plenty of time.
I moved in slow motion. My overclocked body outpaced even this crawl—snail-paced compared to them, I was a nymph.
Bullets first.
In the slowed world, I swung my dagger at incoming rounds weaving through thugs. Grazed slantwise, they veered with slight resistance.
Deflected, I drove my stiletto up through the lead thug's jaw.
Shluck───!
Out the crown. No retrieving it—time was gold. Waste none; kill next.
Dagger to the next guy's eye—deep stab.
Squelch───!
Hilt-deep instant death. He tracked late; I was too fast. No glance back; keep moving.
Holster knife? Fabric too slow.
Skip; yanked wire from my belt loop.
Ching───
Steel-edged wire—not thread, a blade. Gripped it, charged two on the right.
They swung slow as bullets. Dodged easy, looped their necks.
Yank hard.
Snap───!
Heads parted slow-mo. I flowed on.
Muzzles flashed; four more rounds inbound. Sidestepped light, rushed three still charging. Their faces twisted sloooowly in realization.
They wheeled to flee—but I was faster. Bullet Time fading; final kick-off.
Taat──!
Launch—time snapped back.
"Gack?!"
"Ugh!"
"Krrk..."
"Hng...!"
Four crumpled in a blink. I beat the three turning tail, drew hidden knife from suit.
"Wh-what the fuck...!"
"How're you so fast!!"
"M-mercy!!!"
Terror tangled their legs; they tripped. No mercy for them.
Shluck───!
One synced slash dropped all three like dolls.
Now? Silence—not rage. Terror, confusion, dread of the impossible settled heavy.
A resolute hush, unlike before. I strolled through it casually.
"Why so scared? You'll be joining them soon enough."
"Uwaaaagh!!!"
"Shoot! Fire, damn it!!!"
"Fuck this shit!!!"
I flashed a grin. Screams, triggers pulled anew.
Too bad. Ten seconds were long gone.