Why Is That Regulation? (2)
"If they've chased us all the way here, we can just blast 'em all, right?"
"What if we shoot first and talk later..."
Thud— Tossing the M72 rocket launcher aside, Cheol-woo drew his Five-seveN.
A pig that could shrug off .50 cal rounds and still charge. It had spooked him at first, but its movements were so predictable he handled it without issue. High-velocity bullets? Sure, it blocked those. But its body wasn't built to tank a rocket's blast. Small mercies.
"All those guys superhumans?"
"Seems like it..."
"Fucking tons of 'em."
He'd sensed it back at the diner, when that sheriff wannabe started shit. These weren't the only pack of ability users around. Without serious backing, no way they'd strut like that with their skills. So he'd stayed put in the rundown motel on purpose, baiting the rest. And holy shit, he'd hooked a monster.
But he hadn't expected this many. What, was there some secret early-bird ability user soccer league I didn't know about?
It was barely two weeks into the national emergency, and ability users were clustering faster than he could've imagined. And the best they could do with that power? Banditry. If they were pulling this shit before the country even collapsed, god knows what they'd unleash once the government crumbled.
If he wanted Costco to last forever, he'd have to stomp these fuckers out early.
"They're not civilians, so one slip and we're dead. Surrender or not, we kill 'em all."
"Isn't that a bit much? Let's just chop off limbs and call it mercy."
"...Fine."
Click— Slipping on his helmet—its bulletproof glass now flawlessly repaired—Yuri stepped forward.
Thud-thud-thud-thud— The NewTontonMan barreled toward the crashed convoy without hesitation. The enemies' faces went slack with shock.
That powered exosuit charging full-tilt, longsword raised high—it radiated pressure close to a tank. No, beyond a tank.
Bang—bang-bang— They snapped out of it late, grabbing rifles and spraying bullets. But the suit shrugged them off like rain and accelerated.
"What the fu—"
Slash—whoosh— As NewTontonMan blew past, heads tumbled from both sides.
A quick scan of the rest. Ah, that one's the boss— Estimate locked. Charge.
Then a massive frame blocked Yuri's path.
'Blocked me?'
She swung to cleave the obstacle—slash— but instead, a clear clang rang out.
A baseball bat wrapped tight in chains and wire? Weird weapon, but the reaction speed to read her sword's arc and counter? That was the real shocker.
Yuri pulled back, retreating a few steps to size him up head to toe.
'That bulk, and this speed?'
Big bodies meant slower reflexes, sluggish moves. Inevitable physics—the longer the nerve signal travels from brain to extremities. Overcoming that to match her reaction time? Just how fast was this guy?
'Let's see if you can keep blocking.'
Grind— Teeth clenched, Yuri lunged at the giant.
He stepped back, raising the bat overhead. High stance? Yuri's eyes widened.
Clang—scraaaape— He parried her high-to-mid combo seamlessly, then swung back at her head.
She twisted away; the bat grazed her helmet.
'Pro. Not some street punk.'
A few exchanges, and Yuri clocked it. Those weren't brawl-honed instincts. Trained martial art, for sure. Not kendo. Wielding the bat like a double-edged sword? Western fencing, maybe?
Whatever. First real martial artist she'd faced in ages.
Yuri licked her split lip, savoring the metallic tang, and grinned.
The thrill of it. Not the life-or-death tension, but the pure rush of the duel.
"Haaah!"
Sis was hyped. Hearing her crisp shout from afar, Cheol-woo drew his Five-seveN.
She always tuned out the world when she got locked in. Already, some punk with an axe was creeping up behind her.
Bang! Bang! Five-seveN to the knee drop, then a finisher to the skull.
Instantly, bullets rained on Cheol-woo. He dove behind the car's engine bay.
"Gunners first! Take out the shooters!"
They moved like clockwork to encircle him. Trained? Nah, but disciplined.
Bad if they completed the ring. Seizing the lull in fire, he stepped out from cover.
"Kill him! He's just walking there! Kill!"
Ignoring the reloading guy, he headshot the first aimer. Bang! The next finished reloading and lined up—boom, lead in the forehead before the barrel settled.
Cheol-woo strolled the road's center like he owned it. Not a single hit. They dropped one by one—pop-pop—
Even peeking out together just got them simultaneous headshots.
Then—click-click— The boss's eyes bulged. Slide locked back. Dead trigger.
"He's out of ammo! Get him!"
They surged.
Cheol-woo chucked the Five-seveN, drew his Mauser P226, and targeted riflemen first. Bang! Bang! Weapons turned to scrap; owners charged with knives.
'Way slower than bullets.'
Compared to rounds, humans crawled like slugs. First guy hurled a hand axe—Cheol-woo ducked, hooked his ankle, tripped him.
Whirl— Mid-air flip, then bang to the eye socket. Limp.
Next swung a club—dodged by a hair, closed in tight. No swing room. Barrel to the ribs under the vest—bang-bang-bang! Lungs shredded. The guy clutched weakly; Cheol-woo shoved him off, scanned next.
'I'm definitely faster now.'
All blue-drug enhanced. Faster than mutants, yet slower than the ones back in Korea. Dynamic vision leaped forward? Close quarters didn't scare him anymore.
Only threats: that pig who tanked the machine gun, and sis. The rest? Meh.
"Close your eyes! He aims for 'em!"
"Lids won't stop him—gahk!"
All crumpling, blood spraying from eyes. Diamond bones or not, useless. Catch a blink? Pop-pop-pop. Pistol spitting like a SMG, every shot an eye hit.
This fuck—worse than a machine gun— The boss ground his teeth.
Cheating bastard. Thought ditching the MG would make it easy. Nope—headshots with the Five-seveN. Dropped that, now sniping eyes with a 9mm. How the hell do you catch that? Natural predator to every ability user.
"Cheol-woo! Finally got this one! Help with the rest—huh?"
Cheerful voice, NewTontonMan waddling back—then froze at the corpse carpet.
Six longswords shattered; wakizashi finished him. And it's over? How many'd he drop while I got one?
Yuri's face twisted in shock.
Only survivor: a guy slumped, ankles blasted off by what looked like machine gun fire. The boss.
"Off with his head?"
"Hold up. Why so pumped?"
"You said kill 'em all earlier...!"
This little shit—calling me a psycho killer?—
Yuri raised her voice in protest, but Cheol-woo ignored her, squatting before the man.
Eyes empty of fight. Not fear, though. What the hell?
"Should've known you monsters sooner. Mistake not checking faces first."
"Who the fuck are you? Recruiting ability users for your army a hobby?"
"Not wrong. Awakening and enlisting the chosen. Got an eye for it—spot 'em instantly. Superhuman or not. How strong, too. You two... ha... auras I've never seen. Not even tanks match this."
Ability-spotting eyes? Oho. Intriguing.
Superhumans outclass normals, but hard to tell at a glance. Some "enhanced" barely hit Olympic levels. Only sure test? Blue drug. Too risky.
An eye that IDs them on sight, gauges power? Gold.
"You're not the only chosen. World's full of latent ones unaware. Time's short. Government's coming—persecuting, regulating us. Photos, prints, serial numbers in a national database. Residences, jobs, powers—all monitored forever!"
"..."
Cheol-woo's face turned weird as he listened to the rant.
Why is that regulation? Isn't it fucking obvious?