An Empty Gun Can Still Be Loaded

The passage was dark. The noise from the drainage channel faded behind me. Madok’s laughter. Yoon Taeha’s shouts. The yells of the association agents. The screams of Black Dog members as they fell. All of it slammed against the damp concrete walls, tangled together, then grew faint like sounds sinking into water.

I ran with one hand braced against the wall. Or rather, what I did could hardly be called running. I staggered, slipped, and slammed my shoulder into the wall more times than I could count. The right side of my back burned as if it had been scraped by a red-hot blade, thanks to Madok’s compressed heat. Every breath felt like it was tearing the inside of my throat. The marks left by Hound. The stench of filth. The smell of blood. The odor of scorched concrete. And the cold sensation still clinging to my face.

“Haa… haa…”

I lifted a hand to touch my face. There was nothing there to feel on my skin. But I could sense it. A faint film clinging along my eye sockets. A black line pulling the corners of my mouth upward. Persona’s mask. It hadn’t completely disappeared.

The wrist monitor was still blinking red.

Beep. Beep. Beep. The warning tone hammered against my ears like a heartbeat.

“Get lost.”

I muttered the words. I didn’t know who I was talking to. To Persona. To the monitor. Or to myself, who still felt like I was standing on a stage.

Then a soft laugh flowed through my mind.

You did excellently. You rescued the hostage, positioned the hero, and left quite an impression on Madok.

I clenched my teeth. “Shut up.”

Next time you will do even better. Gather more spectators, arrange the fear more precisely, and more beautifully—

“That’s enough.”

My voice echoed low through the passage. It was my voice, but the tone wasn’t entirely mine. Between ragged breaths and irritation, a smooth inflection like a stage emcee had seeped in.

I bit the inside of my lip. The taste of blood filled my mouth. The pain anchored me. Good. Pain meant this body was still mine. It meant I was still here.

“Kang Doyun!”

Yoon Taeha’s voice seemed to reach my ears again. No, it might have been an auditory hallucination. But that voice was something I could hold onto. Not Copycat. Kang Doyun. Not a villain name, but the name of this body. If not for that name, I might never have made it back from that drainage channel.

Damn it. I owed the original novel’s protagonist again. I didn’t like that fact one bit.

My footing slipped. “Ugh…!”

I caught myself by slamming my shoulder against the wall. The black spot stone container inside my backpack thudded heavily. At that moment, the cold sensation on my face grew sharper. As if the black stone inside the box was calling to the mask within me.

I gripped the backpack strap tighter. “You stay quiet too.”

But neither the black spot stone nor Persona stayed quiet.

A faint light appeared at the end of the passage. The rendezvous point the Rat Merchant had mentioned. I squeezed out the last of my strength and staggered toward it.

“Over here!”

The Rat Merchant’s voice rang out. “This way! Hey, do you know you’re staggering around like an actor who just finished a street performance?”

The moment I heard that voice, I almost laughed. Not because I was glad to see him. Not because I felt relieved to be alive. That guy’s voice always had a talent for dragging people back to reality. A pathetic, cowardly, irritated, money-reeking voice. A voice far removed from stage lines. And that was exactly why I liked it.

I pushed my body through the narrow gap of the rusted iron door where light leaked out. The Rat Merchant grabbed my arm and pulled me in. The instant he saw my face, he nearly let go.

“Wait. Why is your face frozen like that?”

I touched the area around my mouth. “Is there blood on it?”

“If it was blood, I wouldn’t be this surprised. Your mouth is frozen, but it looks like you’re smiling. It’s like someone pasted a different expression on top of your face.”

My lips were stiff. But to the Rat Merchant’s eyes, it must have looked different. He took half a step back the moment he saw me. Fearful eyes. Similar to the ones from before. The eyes the Black Dog members had given me in the drainage channel. Seeing those eyes made the Persona inside me raise its head again.

Cowards are easy to handle.

I almost grabbed the Rat Merchant by the collar. I forcibly stopped my hand from moving. “Seon Woo-rak. Check the numbers.”

Seon Woo-rak was already holding the monitor. The moment he saw me, his expression hardened. “Eighty-four. No, closer to eighty-five. Without the suppressant, it’ll be difficult to hold on here for long.”

“Is there a way to bring it down right now?”

“I can only administer temporary measures here. To lower it properly, we’ll need to move to a place with proper equipment.”

The Rat Merchant ground his teeth. “So we still have to go all the way to the junkyard. Can’t you stop talking in such a complicated way and just make me feel better?”

Seon Woo-rak examined my face closely. There was more curiosity than worry in his eyes. But this time, he wasn’t completely calm either. “There are lingering traces of facial manifestation. To ordinary people it might just look like a strange expression, but sensory or mental-type supernormals will recognize it immediately.”

The Rat Merchant pointed at my face with his finger. “I’m an ordinary person and it still looks plenty ominous to me.”

“You’re the fearful type, which makes you quite sensitive. That trait is actually quite advantageous for survival.”

“Don’t package that as a compliment. It’s true that I’ve survived this long because I’m a coward, but hearing it from someone else’s mouth just pisses me off.”

“It was merely a factual observation.”

I stopped listening to their conversation and leaned my head against the wall. I needed time to catch my breath. But there was no time. Another explosion echoed from the drainage channel behind us. Madok and Yoon Taeha were still fighting. At that sound, I instinctively turned my head.

The Rat Merchant immediately grabbed my shoulder. “If you turn your head that way one more time, I’ll knock you out by hitting the back of your head.”

I didn’t answer. The Rat Merchant’s grip tightened. “The hostage is out. The association has arrived. If you go back now, the only thing you can do is pull that mask on even deeper.”

“Yoon Taeha is still there.”

“That hero isn’t someone you need to worry about. He’s the kind of guy who’ll come after you once he’s fine again.”

“I know.” I closed my eyes, then opened them. “That’s exactly why I’m not going back. If I get tangled up there again, even I won’t be able to escape this time.”

The Rat Merchant looked at me for a moment, then shook his head. “It makes me more anxious when you say something reasonable. Usually those kinds of words are reassuring only when they come from someone who’s actually fine.”

Seon Woo-rak spoke. “We need to move. If we stop here, the association or Black Dog will catch up soon. Especially Hound. Even if he’s lost his sense of smell, he won’t completely lose your trail.”

“Can that bastard still move?”

“He received both the olfactory-disrupting drug and the effects of Persona’s manifestation at the same time, but he won’t be completely incapacitated. Hunting dogs tend to crawl even if their legs are broken.”

The Rat Merchant frowned. “Just hearing that makes me annoyed. Sounds exactly like a damn dog.”

Seon Woo-rak responded naturally. “It is literally a story about a dog.”

“Both of you shut up. I’m not in the mood to listen to jokes right now.”

I adjusted the backpack strap. A pistol was in my hand. The gun I had used in the drainage channel. I checked the magazine. It was empty. There were no bullets. I already knew that. Still, I couldn’t let go of it. Even an empty gun looks like a weapon to someone.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, Persona’s voice laughed quietly.

If the audience believes it, even an empty gun is loaded.

I cursed inwardly. It annoyed me even more because it was true.

The Rat Merchant took the lead. “If we go down through the southern transfer underground passage, it connects to the waste intake entrance near the junkyard. I originally made this route to run away alone in an emergency, so it doesn’t appear on any proper maps.”

“What about Black Dog?”

“If they knew about it, I’d already be buried under cement.”

“The association?”

“It’s not on any official blueprints. The association doesn’t like dirty holes like this. The ones who like them are bastards like me.”

Seon Woo-rak added, “However, if the black spot stone reaction leaks, the secrecy of the path becomes meaningless.”

The Rat Merchant glared at me. “So hold that box quietly. If the stone inside starts singing because it feels bad, my secret passage will turn into a funeral home.”

“If only the box would listen to me.”

“Don’t say things like that. I already feel like living a long life is the last thing I want today.”

We moved along the narrow passage. The Rat Merchant kept scanning ahead, Seon Woo-rak checked the monitor from behind me, and I walked in the middle. Or rather, I was being dragged along. My body felt too heavy. But my mind was strangely clear. The cracks in the wall. The wet patches on the floor. The Rat Merchant’s walking speed. The timing of Seon Woo-rak adjusting his bag. Everything looked like scenes from a play.

I shook my head hard. This wasn’t a stage. It was a passage. That wasn’t an actor. It was the Rat Merchant. That wasn’t a narrator. It was Seon Woo-rak. That wasn’t a prop. It was the black spot stone container.

I kept repeating those facts to myself. Over and over. But the moment unfamiliar footsteps sounded from the end of the passage, everything realigned into a stage again.

One. Two. Three. Three in front. The rear was still empty. A narrow passage in the middle. Old electrical wiring on the right wall. A puddle on the left floor. Usable.

The stage whispered.

The Rat Merchant raised his hand. We all stopped. Three men appeared from the other side of the passage. One wearing a black jumper. One in a worn bulletproof vest. And one skinny woman wearing a pressed-down cap. They weren’t official Black Dog members. No tattoos were visible. But they weren’t lightly armed. Pistols. Tasers. A folding axe. Bounty hunters. Subcontractors who had seen the dark market bulletin board and moved in.

The Rat Merchant cursed quietly. “If they tracked us this far, it means one of my contacts opened their mouth.”

The man in the bulletproof vest laughed. “Rat Merchant. Your holes always stink. Of money and of traitor at the same time.”

The Rat Merchant’s face hardened. “I’ve sold out a few people, so I guess someone with a grudge kindly gave you directions.”

“That’s how you’ve lived, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. That’s why I’m still alive.”

The Rat Merchant’s voice dropped. The man’s gaze turned toward me. First to my backpack. Then to my face. He paused for a moment.

“Is that Copycat?”

The woman in the cap said quietly, “His face is different from the rumors. He’s wearing glasses, that’s correct, but that expression is a whole different problem.”

The man in the black jumper raised his gun. “Tall, glasses, curly hair, backpack. The bounty conditions match. The fact that his face is a bit messed up must be included in the three hundred million as a defect.”

The bulletproof vest man laughed. “Three hundred million for capture alive. One hundred million if you kill him and bring only the item. Today’s luck is pretty good.”

The Rat Merchant spoke immediately. “If you touch me, your entire trading network dies. If you’re planning to burn your own food supply just to make some money today, that’s your freedom.”

“So you’re saying you’ll sell us instead of killing us. Putting a price tag on your head would probably fetch quite a sum too.”

“What a considerate offer. If I refuse, I’d be the rude one.”

I took a step forward. The Rat Merchant urgently grabbed my arm. “If you use your ability now, it’s over. Your face already looks half like it belongs to someone else.”

“I’m not using my ability.”

“I want to believe that, but your eyes keep making it hard to.”

Seon Woo-rak also spoke quietly. “Reaction rate is at eighty-six. If you add anything on top of that right now, you could collapse before the suppressant even reaches you.”

“I know.”

I raised the pistol. The muzzle slowly swept across the three bounty hunters. They froze immediately. It was an empty gun. But they didn’t know that.

The man in the black jumper sneered. “You really think there are still bullets left in that gun?”

I didn’t answer. Answering would give them information. Silence creates blanks. Blanks that the opponent fills with their own fear. Persona’s way of thinking rose naturally. I gritted my teeth. I’m the one using this. I’m not being swallowed. I’m using it.

I slowly lowered the muzzle. Just as they were about to feel relieved, the muzzle pointed at my own backpack. Precisely at the black spot stone container wrapped in shielding cloth.

Seon Woo-rak’s eyes sharpened. The Rat Merchant nearly swallowed his breath. The bounty hunters’ faces also hardened. They probably didn’t know the exact identity of the black spot stone. But rumors must have circulated in the dark market. A black stone. Something Black Dog was searching for. An illegal supernormal item that the association was tracking. Rumors that Copycat had changed because of it. The less they knew, the more afraid they became.

I spoke quietly. “One shot is enough.”

The black jumper man’s finger froze on the trigger. The bulletproof vest man bared his teeth. “If you shoot that, you’ll die too. You should pick your moments for bluffing better.”

I tilted my head slightly. The lingering echo of the mask on my face smiled. I tried not to smile, but it probably looked like I was smiling in their eyes.

“Do I look like someone who wants to live?”

At those words, the three men’s expressions wavered. I knew it too. I wanted to live. I didn’t want to die. That was why I had crawled all the way here. But my current appearance was persuasive. Blood and filth. Burns. Torn hands. The faint mask on my face. Supernormal overload. To the men before me, I wouldn’t look like a normal human. All I had to do was make them believe I wasn’t a normal human.

An empty gun can still be loaded.

“Three hundred million for capture alive. One hundred million for killing and recovering the belongings.” I spoke slowly. “Have you ever thought about why there’s such a difference?”

The bulletproof vest man’s eyes shook. “Black Dog wants me alive. They need to find out whether I opened this, what I saw, and how my supernormal reacted.”

I brought the muzzle even closer to the black spot stone container. “But if you push me, I’ll shoot this.”

The black jumper man spat out a curse. “Then you’ll die too.”

“I will.” I spoke very slowly. “But if you all die with me, who loses more?”

The passage fell silent. Even the Rat Merchant closed his mouth. Seon Woo-rak was watching me. His expression was strange. Worry. Interest. And judgment. A face calculating whether I could really shoot. The gun was empty. I couldn’t shoot. But on this stage, facts weren’t what mattered. Belief was. The moment they believed I could shoot, the gun would be loaded.

The bulletproof vest man swallowed. “What if we back off?”

“You live.”

“You think Black Dog will leave us alone if we let you go?”

“If you fail to catch me, I might find you before Black Dog does.”

He looked at my face. The lingering trace of the mask. The black lines around my eyes. He seemed to sense that this wasn’t normal bluffing. The woman in the cap spoke quietly. “Let’s not touch him. That thing is more dangerous than money right now.”

The black jumper man ground his teeth. “Three hundred million is right in front of us and you want to tuck tail?”

The woman spoke without even looking at him. “You can’t spend it if you’re dead. I know you like money, but corpses can’t open bank accounts.”

Their objectives split. Good. But it wouldn’t last long. Fear, if held too long, quickly turns into anger. I whispered very quietly to the Rat Merchant. “Left floor.”

The Rat Merchant’s eyes moved. He understood immediately. The puddle on the floor. The old electrical wiring on the side wall. He lowered his body and moved only his fingers. A small piece of metal rolled across the floor. I didn’t know when he had taken it out. It was probably one of the random items he always carried.

The moment the metal piece touched the puddle, Seon Woo-rak took a small device from his bag and threw it toward the wall. Click. The device stuck to the electrical wiring. Crackle! A short spark flew. The three bounty hunters’ gazes snapped toward it. In that instant, I didn’t use my ability. I ran.

The Rat Merchant rolled first and slipped into the side passage. Seon Woo-rak followed. I was last. The black jumper man regained his senses and raised his gun. “They’re running!”

Bang! A gunshot rang out. The bullet shattered the wall beside my shoulder. Concrete fragments grazed my face. I didn’t stop. From behind, the bulletproof vest man cursed. “You idiot, if you hit the item, are you going to explain it to Black Dog?”

That remark slowed them down. Good. The threat was still alive. I turned the corner of the passage. The Rat Merchant ran ahead and shouted, “You just acted like you were really going to shoot with that gun!”

“There are no bullets.”

The Rat Merchant almost turned to look at me while running. “Then was that whole commotion just a performance playing with people’s hearts?”

I spoke while gasping for breath. “Loading.”

“Speak so I can understand! You said there were no bullets to load!”

Seon Woo-rak laughed quietly from behind. “The expression itself is interesting. If it means loading perception and fear instead of physical bullets—”

“You, stop analyzing! If I hear any more analysis right now, I feel like I’ll push you before I push him!”

Footsteps sounded again from behind the passage. The bounty hunters hadn’t completely backed off. They were scared, but they couldn’t give up on the money. That was what bottom-feeders were like. I knew it well. Shaking them once didn’t break them completely. They needed greater fear or greater profit. Such thoughts flowed naturally. I bit my lip. Again. The calculations for moving people came to me too easily. Persona’s method.

The Rat Merchant and Seon Woo-rak turned right at the fork. There was a low iron door. The Rat Merchant took out an old key from his pocket. His hand was shaking. The key wouldn’t go in on the first try.

“Rat Merchant.” My voice dropped. “We don’t have time for your hands to shake.”

“I know that too. Don’t blame me for my hands not listening to me.”

The footsteps from behind grew closer. “Rat Merchant!” A bounty hunter’s voice. “We know it’s a dead end over there! Come out quietly!”

The Rat Merchant cursed under his breath and turned the key. Click. The iron door opened. Beyond it, the smell of oil and metal rushed in. The junkyard. A place piled with old car parts and scrap metal. An underground maintenance room beneath it. Another of the Rat Merchant’s hiding places, and the location where Seon Woo-rak had hidden temporary equipment.

“Get in!” The Rat Merchant went in first. Seon Woo-rak grabbed my arm and pulled me. I practically fell inside. The iron door closed. Slam! The Rat Merchant dropped a thick bolt from the inside. Immediately, kicking sounds came from outside. Bang! Bang!

“Open it!”

The Rat Merchant leaned against the wall, panting. “This door doesn’t open easily. Still, it won’t hold forever, so don’t think about taking it easy with treatment or stabilization or whatever.”

Seon Woo-rak was already moving deeper into the maintenance room. “Copycat. Sit on the bed over here. If you can’t sit, collapsing is fine, but I’d appreciate it if you avoided collapsing onto the equipment.”

I didn’t answer. No. I couldn’t answer. The fluorescent lights inside the maintenance room caught my eye. Old, dim light. Piles of scrap metal. An oil-stained workbench. Tools hanging on the wall. Small medical equipment on the table. Syringes. Metal plates. Shielding devices. Everything looked like a single stage.

I can’t. The moment I thought that, the mask on my face grew cold again.

The monitor screamed. Beeep.

Seon Woo-rak’s face hardened. “It’s rising further. At this rate, the manifestation could worsen before I can prepare the suppressant.”

The Rat Merchant turned around. “Can’t you say it in a less terrifying way?”

“Saying it less terrifyingly won’t lower the numbers.”

I tried to put down the backpack. My hand wouldn’t listen. I hugged the black spot stone container even tighter. Persona whispered.

Do not let go of the box. It is the core prop of the stage.

“No.” I gritted my teeth. “It’s mine.”

No, it is not. It belongs to the stage.

My fingertips fumbled at the opening of the backpack. The black spot stone container wrapped in shielding cloth. Inside, it felt like the red sun pattern was flickering. I grabbed my right wrist with my left hand. My fingers trembled.

The Rat Merchant turned pale as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watched me. “Copycat. Your hand is heading toward the box right now. If you open that, it’s over for me, you, and that old man.”

My head slowly turned in that direction. The Rat Merchant flinched. He took a step back. That movement appeared far too clearly. A frightened rat. Searching for an exit. Emergency passage on the left rear. Right hand inside his coat. A gun? No. A small taser. Can’t use it. Fear comes first.

“Stop.” I muttered. But the voice that came out was different. “It would be troublesome if the audience runs away.”

The maintenance room froze. All color drained from the Rat Merchant’s face. Seon Woo-rak slowly opened his bag. His hands were cautious. “Kang Doyun.” He called my name. “If you can hear your name, hold onto it. What you need right now is self-boundary, not ability.”

I tried to answer. I can hear you. I’m still here. But before my mouth could move, different words came out. “It is rude to ask the director for his real name, Doctor.”

Seon Woo-rak’s eyes narrowed. The Rat Merchant swallowed a curse. “This has exceeded the risk range I signed on the contract for.”

With trembling hands, he pulled a pistol from his coat. An old, small pistol. It looked even more shabby than mine. He aimed the muzzle at me. “Copycat. Stop right there. Even if I’m a coward, I can pull the trigger if it’s to survive.”

I looked at him. No, my body looked at him. The corners of my mouth rose. The mask was settling over my face again. This time more clearly. A translucent film covering the eye area. A black smile drawn at the mouth. The Rat Merchant’s hand trembled. My mouth spoke.

“Cowards calculate before they pull the trigger.”

The Rat Merchant’s pupils shook. “Because you’re afraid the black spot stone will be shaken if you shoot.” One step. “Because you’re afraid I might not die even if you shoot.” Another step. “Because you’re afraid Black Dog and the association will swarm in after you shoot.”

The Rat Merchant stepped backward. “Stop talking like you’re looking inside my head. It feels disgusting.”

“Therefore, you cannot shoot.” My body laughed. “Instead, you will prepare to run away. Very wise. Cowards tend to live long, after all.”

The Rat Merchant’s voice cracked. “That mouth isn’t Copycat’s, is it?”

Seon Woo-rak took out a syringe from behind. My gaze turned toward it. “Observers should not step onto the stage.”

Seon Woo-rak stopped. For the first time, clear tension appeared in his eyes. My hand moved toward the backpack. The black spot stone container. The black box wrapped in shielding cloth. I could feel the red sun pattern flickering inside it. Open it. A larger stage is needed.

My fingertips touched the knot of the shielding cloth. Inside, I screamed. No. You can’t open that. If you open it, it’s over. But the voice didn’t come out.

The Rat Merchant’s muzzle trembled. Seon Woo-rak’s syringe rose just a little. Outside, the bounty hunters were pounding on the iron door. Bang! Bang! Bang! Inside the maintenance room, the black spot stone was beating. Thump. Thump. Thump. Like a heart. And the smiling mask on my face was completing itself.

The Rat Merchant gritted his teeth. “Hey.” He spoke while aiming the gun. “Mask bastard.”

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

My hand stopped. “What did you say?”

The Rat Merchant’s voice was trembling. But he didn’t back down. “I said stop acting arrogant while clinging to someone else’s face.”

The air inside the maintenance room froze. The Rat Merchant was terrified. Yet he still spoke. “No matter how unlucky Copycat is, that face isn’t yours. If you want to smile with that body, at least get the owner’s permission first.”

Those words pierced somewhere. Deep down. Beneath the stage. Behind the mask. The place where I still remained. I drew a breath through that gap. Just a little. Really just a little. But it was enough. My hand stopped at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knot of the shielding cloth. Seon Woo-rak didn’t miss that moment. He moved. The syringe headed for the back of my neck.

Persona laughed. You’re too late.

No. Not yet. I gathered the last of my strength. My lips moved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever so slightly. “…Shoot.”

The Rat Merchant’s eyes widened. I didn’t know whether I had said it or Persona had. But the Rat Merchant heard those words and pulled the trigger. Click. No gunshot rang out. It was empty. The Rat Merchant’s gun was also empty.

In that instant, Persona’s mask smiled. But at the same time, I smiled too. For real. It was my laughter.

“An empty gun… can still be loaded, right?”

In that split second, Seon Woo-rak’s syringe plunged into the back of my neck. Thunk. Cold liquid spread through my veins. My vision collapsed. Persona’s mask distorted. The fluorescent lights in the maintenance room stretched long. The Rat Merchant’s curses grew distant.

“These people are seriously all carrying empty guns and playing with people’s lives!”

Seon Woo-rak’s voice came low. “Supernormal suppressant administered. Dosage excessive. Try not to die.”

I couldn’t answer. The strength left the hand holding the black spot stone container. The Rat Merchant rushed forward and snatched the backpack.

“Ah, damn it. Why do I have to be the one hugging this thing? It’s not money, it’s not a bomb, and the fact that it’s both makes me hate it even more!”

The iron door outside shook again. Bang! But even that sound grew distant. There was no feeling of the mask falling from my face. Only darkness descended. And within the darkness, Persona whispered.

The performance is not over yet.

With my last strength, I answered. “It’s over.”

No. The audience has only just begun to gather.

My vision closed completely into black. The last thing I heard was the Rat Merchant’s trembling voice.

“Hey, Copycat.” He was panting. “If you wear that kind of thing on your face again next time, I’ll get real bullets first and come back.”

Seon Woo-rak spoke quietly. “Don’t you currently have no bullets?”

“Even without them, you still aimed it, didn’t you?”

“That is something you just experienced as well.”

The Rat Merchant ground his teeth and said, “Yeah. An empty gun can still be loaded, right?”

With those words, I lost consciousness.