Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Silver Holy Bullets
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After pressing Viet for the full story, Lee Si-woo clicked his tongue.
“You came to capture a child just to extract information on how to deal with the wraiths?”
Viet nodded her head and spoke.
“…Yes, I was certain that kid would have information we don’t.”
“So you coveted the knowledge in his head. Tsk, and this is after you sent him away, refusing to believe a word he said. This… isn’t just petty, it’s downright pathetic.”
“That’s right. We’re petty, and we’re pathetic. So let me give you a warning of my own. You’d be wise to let me go peacefully.”
“And if I don’t? What are you going to do?”
“It’ll be war. Even as we speak, our conversation is being relayed to Montreal.”
Viet said, tapping the helmet of her suit.
Only then did Lee Si-woo realize her communication system was on, and he let out a smirk.
In truth, he had known all along but found it amusing that she was brandishing something he had deliberately ignored as if it were a weapon.
“I know there’s a communication system in the suit’s helmet. But why do you think I let it be?”
“…Because you were also worried about confronting us?”
“No, it’s the opposite. I wanted to show your side… what happens when you mess with us.”
Lee Si-woo mercilessly twisted Viet’s arm.
Despite her wearing the suit, the performance difference was so vast that her arm bent in a grotesque direction, like a rubber doll with no bones.
She thrashed and let out a piercing scream, but Lee Si-woo didn’t even blink.
“Montreal. You’re listening, right? I have your colleague. So if you want to find her, come find me. Oh, and you’d better come as prepared as possible. As you can see from how I wrecked your colleague… I’m not exactly a pushover.”
Having said that, Lee Si-woo proceeded to break Viet’s other arm.
Perhaps startled by her repeated screams?
Montreal’s voice flowed from the speaker in Viet’s helmet.
-Enough. Don’t touch Viet any further. If you don’t want to regret it.
“Well now, weren’t you the ones who messed with us first?”
-I admit that. But our relationship isn’t so hostile that we’ve crossed the point of no return, is it? Isn’t that right?
“No, the moment you messed with me, that’s exactly what our relationship became. I’m not a fan of half-assed relationships.”
With those words, Lee Si-woo smashed the speaker on Viet’s helmet.
With a final crackle of static, Montreal’s voice was heard no more.
Trembling in pain and fear, Viet spoke.
“You… what are you! What are you planning to do to me?”
Lee Si-woo whispered in her ear.
“This is just my opinion, but I don’t think a hostage necessarily needs to be alive. Don’t you agree? As long as the other side… believes she’s alive, that’s all that matters.”
Lee Si-woo then snapped Viet’s neck.
He killed her without a moment’s hesitation, a display of brutal swiftness.
However, not only Ruktator, but surprisingly, young Si-woo also showed no signs of being disturbed.
Was that why?
Lee Si-woo asked young Si-woo.
“Si-woo. Do you think I went too far?”
Young Si-woo thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Can I be honest?”
“Go ahead.”
“If that woman hadn’t tried to take me hostage, I would have thought you went too far. But since she tried to use me as a hostage to threaten you… she paid the price she deserved. To be blunt, there’s no guarantee she wouldn’t have killed me after she was done with her business, right?”
Lee Si-woo felt a strange sense of dissonance.
Young Si-woo had a strong sense of justice, enough to go into a police station to help complete strangers.
But to be unfazed by a murder happening right before his eyes?
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was twisted.
*Perhaps… he’s already not in a normal state.*
This was a child who had been confined in a research facility for years.
Who knew what kind of biological experiments and research young Si-woo had been subjected to in there?
In the end, he might appear normal on the outside, but his inner self could be broken.
Yes, just like himself, who had lost his parents in his youth.
*Throb.*
Lee Si-woo scowled and shook his head, a sharp headache piercing his brain like a blade.
He was trying to shake off an old memory he didn’t even want to think about.
Lee Si-woo rummaged through Viet’s belongings, taking a few portable food packs and a pistol.
He also took the two rifles Ruktator had looted from the two police NPCs.
Lee Si-woo handed one of the rifles to young Si-woo and asked.
“Do you know how to handle a gun?”
Young Si-woo promptly took the rifle and replied.
“Of course. I was playing with guns before I was out of diapers.”
Lee Si-woo smiled bitterly at the scent of a desolate past embedded in the joke.
“Keep it. You never know when you might need it. Now, then… let’s grab the holy relic or whatever it is from here and get going.”
With that, Lee Si-woo slung Viet’s corpse over his shoulder.
Since he hadn’t looted the suit’s watch yet, the Cat’s Suit was still on her body.
He intended to use the club’s location beacon embedded in the suit to lure Montreal.
***
After his communication with Lee Si-woo was cut, Montreal, unable to contain his rage, slammed his fist on the desk.
“Damn it all! If he lays a single finger on Viet, I won’t let him get away with it!”
Because Viet, who was more of a lover than a colleague, was in Lee Si-woo’s grasp, Montreal found it difficult to maintain his composure.
He stood up, fidgeting, and paced around the room.
*The fact that he’s alive means Grizzly is dead. Then… is he stronger than Grizzly? No way. Grizzly is a Rank 3 suit user. A rookie who just entered Chapter 2 is no match for him. Wait, could it be… that bastard. Did he use the wraiths?*
Wraiths.
Yes, if it was the wraiths, it made sense.
How a newbie like ‘Eric’ could have killed Grizzly.
*He used the brat’s knowledge to manipulate the wraiths. To kill Grizzly? Ha… no wonder I was suspicious of him taking care of a kid he’d never met. That cunning bastard! He must have realized the kid’s value early on and secured him. And he managed to survive and get his hands on Grizzly’s suit.*
The thought that the Rank 3 suit could have been his if he had acted a little smarter and more shrewdly was driving Montreal insane.
But on the other hand, he also felt that it wasn’t too late.
*That’s right. It’s not too late. If I take care of Eric now, Grizzly is mine. Of course, with Viet as a hostage and the Grizzly suit in his hands, I can’t be careless. Hmm, in that case… I’ll need the Chief’s help.*
Suits fundamentally provided bulletproof functionality up to Rank 3.
Even this varied by rank, and in the case of Rank 3, it boasted formidable defense, capable of blocking all bullets short of an anti-materiel sniper rifle.
Therefore, assuming the man was wearing the Grizzly suit, he needed a weapon more powerful than an anti-materiel sniper rifle.
*It’s said that higher-tier weapons capable of dealing with Rank 3 suits only appear in Chapter 3, but… that was when Chapter 2 wasn’t this broken. Alright, let’s move. Whether it turns out good or bad, I have to take the chance. If I fail, it’s all for nothing… but if I succeed, it’s a golden opportunity to raise my status in the club.*
A good idea having come to mind, Montreal hurried to find the police chief.
The police chief, who was working in his office, didn’t hide his surprise at Montreal’s visit and asked.
“Hm? What brings you here at this hour?”
“Chief. Do you remember the boy and the man who caused a disturbance at the station the other day?”
“Ah, of course, I do. Didn’t you requisition two of my men to find that boy? Oh, don’t tell me you’ve already caught them? You said you had something to find out from the boy; that’s some fast work.”
Montreal shook his head, feigning a grave expression, then bowed so deeply his head almost touched the floor.
“I apologize, Chief. I’m ashamed to say… not only did I lose the men you provided to that boy and his companion, but my own colleague has also been taken hostage.”
Montreal’s words struck like a bolt from the blue, and the police chief was utterly stunned.
“What? How on earth! Even if he’s a former rescue worker like you and has one of those suits… didn’t you say that as long as he’s wearing a Level 1 or whatever suit, it wouldn’t be difficult to take him down with just a rifle?!”
Montreal spoke in a tone thick with indignation and resentment.
“That’s correct. Normally, I should have captured him just as I promised. However… it seems that vile fiend is the mastermind behind the strange incidents happening in the city right now. That man… he possesses the ability to control the wraiths that attacked us the other night.”
“…He can control wraiths? That man?”
“Yes. That’s why I lost two riflemen, and my colleague’s fate is unknown. Not only that, but the one considered the strongest on our side was also defeated by him. I am sorry. I have no excuse. Capturing him is… beyond my abilities.”
“Hold on. Just a moment, let me think.”
The police chief, who had fallen into a suffocating silence as if trying to gauge the truth of Montreal’s words, finally spoke.
“I think I have a rough idea of the situation… but seeing as you’ve come to me, you must have a solution. Either that… or there’s something you want from me.”
At the meaningful nuance in the police chief’s words, Montreal grinned.
Truly, he and this NPC, whatever it was, were on the same wavelength.
And so, Montreal was certain.
With this, he could wring the neck of that bastard, Eric, who had taken Viet hostage.
***
After obtaining the holy relic from the cathedral, Lee Si-woo headed to a nearby industrial university, following young Si-woo’s directions.
Upon arrival, young Si-woo abruptly snatched the holy relic from Lee Si-woo and went into a workshop in the university.
Several hours passed. By the time the clock struck three past noon, young Si-woo emerged from the workshop, drenched in sweat.
“Phew, it’s done. This should be good enough.”
Young Si-woo set down a wooden box he had been cradling.
Inside the box were rows of silver bullets. He had melted down the cathedral’s holy relic, the ‘Faceless Silver Statue,’ and silver-plated the rifle bullets they possessed.
This process was extremely delicate and required professional skill, making it difficult even for experts. However, young Si-woo, possessing a dexterity and skill that belied his age, had managed to pull it off.
“Can we damage the wraith boss with these bullets?”
“Yes. We should be able to deal some damage. A fatal wound will be difficult, though.”
“Wait, if we can’t deal a fatal wound, what’s the point?”
“There is a point. Not with these bullets… but with these.”
Young Si-woo took out five silver bullets he had kept separately in his pocket.
“These five ‘Silver Holy Bullets’ contain the blood of a saint, allowing them to inflict fatal damage on spiritual entities like wraiths. Unfortunately, I had so little of the saint’s blood that I could only make five… but if we lodge these in its vitals, it’s a goner, whether it’s a wraith boss or a wraith ancestor.”
“Silver Holy Bullets… Alright, then hand them over to…”
Lee Si-woo reached for the bullets, but young Si-woo tucked them back into his pocket and stuck out his tongue.
“Sorry, but I’ll be holding onto these.”
Slightly taken aback, Lee Si-woo asked.
“What? Why?”
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not that I don’t trust you. But… to be honest, the only reason you’re good at fighting is because of that suit thing, right? Besides, I don’t even know if you’re a sharpshooter, so how can I entrust these precious Silver Holy Bullets to you? So leave them to me. It’s a hundred times better for me to have them than for you, who I can’t rely on.”
Inside his helmet, Lee Si-woo’s face contorted at young Si-woo’s confident, shameless, and smug words.
At this point, he had no choice but to admit it.
His younger self was just as much of an insufferable brat as his current self.
As Lee Si-woo stood there dumbfounded, young Si-woo gestured with his head and said.
“Huh? Big bro? What are you doing? Hurry up and take the lead. You have to play defense up front in case other enemies pop out. If I get sniped by mistake, it’s over for this city. Right? So you have to protect me with your body. Got it?”
Behind them, Ruktator burst into fits of laughter, pointing at Lee Si-woo.
He looked like he was about to die from amusement.
Lee Si-woo gritted his teeth.
For some reason, at that moment, Ruktator, who was cackling and rolling on the floor, seemed far more annoying than his past self.