Chapter 97
Translator: uly
Chapter: 097
Chapter Title: The Immortal Vampire Girl Rosen (5)
“You cruel bastards, do you even know what you've done? Look at what you did to a child.”
Dong-jin shouted, grinding his teeth as his head was crushed under a shoe heel.
“Sir, does that look like a normal kid to you? We have a duty to protect the nation. Take a good look over there. Is that even human?”
Section Chief Kim pointed his pistol at Rosen while keeping his foot planted on Dong-jin's head.
The gaze following the pistol barrel fell on Rosen's small body, standing pitifully with its head blown clean off.
“That thing—how's it even standing without a head? Park! Go check it out.”
The bespectacled man issued the order to the guy behind him.
The man visibly hesitated but stepped forward as if he had no choice.
“It hurts... It hurts so much...”
A feeble groan emanated from the headless torso.
The men flinched in shock, widening their eyes as they stared at Rosen's headless body.
Pop.
Two small, white hands emerged from Rosen's slender neck.
The delicate hands tugged the body downward, as if shedding a layer of clothing.
The body sloughed off like a molt, revealing golden blonde hair that shimmered brilliantly under the streetlamp.
“It hurt so much. All that stinging was just awful.”
As the tiny head poked out, Rosen spoke while pursing her small, adorable mouth.
A brand-new Rosen had emerged from the body whose head had been smashed.
Hands and feet followed, and she straightened the red dress that had slipped off her.
“Argh! What the hell is this? This monster... Everyone, smash its head!”
Pistols blazed again at the bespectacled man's shout.
The bullets flew straight toward Rosen's head.
Rosen casually swiped with both hands, then took a single step forward toward the men as if nothing had happened.
“You guys are really naughty. Gonna shoot more?”
Rosen said to the men in her bright, chirpy voice.
Her clear voice lingered briefly in their ears before echoing into the night sky.
“What do we do? Keep shooting?”
Section Chief Kim asked the bespectacled man.
The bespectacled man, cowed by Rosen's aura, muttered what sounded like a sigh.
“Damn...”
After that brief sigh, he glanced around before smiling at Rosen.
“Little miss, with your head growing right back like that, you're no zombie. We're the ones who hunt zombies to protect the people—and now it's clear you're not one. We'll head out now.”
Rosen shot back at the bespectacled man's brazen words as if they weren't worth praying over.
“You're gonna unload bullets on me and just walk away?”
Cold sweat soaked the men's backs at the anger in Rosen's voice.
They could instinctively sense that the blonde girl before them was no easy mark.
Crushed bullets crumbled from Rosen's hand onto the asphalt with cracking sounds.
“I'll swing by later to hear your story, little miss. Got places to be today—gotta run. What are you waiting for? Park! Fire up the van!”
With those glib words, the bespectacled man bolted toward their van.
The rest of the men finally snapped to and chased after him.
Rosen simply watched their retreating backs without budging an inch.
With Section Chief Kim's shoe off the back of his head, Dong-jin was free to move. He pushed himself up and crouched on the asphalt.
Once she confirmed the men's van speeding off in reverse far in the distance, Rosen ran to him and threw her arms around him.
“Uncle! Are you hurt?”
Dong-jin scooped up the little girl who'd leaped into his arms and bolted straight for the apartment entrance.
“Rosen, let's get to safety first.”
Rosen was deeply grateful that he wasn't asking her a single question about herself as he ran.
“I'm coming with you, Uncle!”
Eun-young and Sun-young dashed out of the convenience store and followed right behind him.
Rosen, cradled in Dong-jin's arms, asked Eun-young—who had come running up, gasping for breath.
“Aren't you sisters scared of me?”
“Why would we be scared of you? It's those gun-toting uncles who scare me. You didn't hurt a soul—you just took all those bullets. Whew, I'm winded. Don't make me talk while we're running.”
As Eun-young said, Rosen hadn't harmed anyone. She'd only taken the bullets to save Dong-jin.
* * *
“Section chief, what the hell was that thing? You saw it, right? Turning bullets to powder. Gives me the chills just thinking about it.”
Section Chief Kim asked the bespectacled man from the reversing van, his face pale with fear.
The bespectacled man wiped sweat from his brow—he seemed scared of Rosen too—as he replied.
“No idea what it is, but it looks too tough for us alone. Definitely not a zombie, though. Park! Pull over somewhere decent!”
At the order to stop the van, Section Chief Kim asked in surprise, his voice trembling.
“Pull over and what? Go another round with that thing?”
“SWAT team's about to arrive. We wait here, link up with them, and take down that monster kid. Everyone, reload your weapons.”
Section Chief Kim's face turned to stone at the bespectacled man's words.
He clearly dreaded facing Rosen again.
Unaware or uncaring of Section Chief Kim's feelings, the bespectacled man showed no sign of backing down.
“It's a threat to national security. We have to eliminate it.”
* * *
“Uncle, where are you going?”
Rosen asked from Dong-jin's arms as he plunged blindly into the apartment complex.
The shooting had already caused a commotion, and plenty of residents were milling about inside the grounds.
“Damn it, I'm a goner. Gotta cut through the complex, get home, and call the cops.”
His direct path to his one-room probably wasn't an option anymore.
Dong-jin answered Rosen's question between heaving breaths.
He'd run quite a bit today—his stamina was shot.
“Ouch! We can't go home. Ouch! Those guys'll come looking. Ouch! Just keep running to the back gate. Ouch!”
Rosen shook her head vigorously in response.
With Dong-jin not slowing down, her face kept bumping into his chest every time she spoke, making it tough.
Dong-jin, finding Rosen's words quite reasonable, turned to the sisters following behind.
“I'll head straight to the back gate like this. You two duck into your relative's place here. Those guys won't hurt you. Hurry up and split off—get to safety.”
Touched by his concern for them, Eun-young and Sun-young bowed deeply in thanks before veering off in another direction.
* * *
The bespectacled man's group, now joined by SWAT to capture Dong-jin and Rosen, parked the SWAT ops vehicle up front and advanced along the road into the apartment complex.
In the distance, they could see a line of cars stalled in the middle of the road from the zombie attack.
They drove as far as possible before disembarking and proceeding on foot.
As they passed the row of parked cars and neared the convenience store, a young woman's lovely voice halted them.
“Don't come any closer.”
The bespectacled man's group turned as one to look at the convenience store.
An exotic beauty with tanned skin stepped out and raised a single finger toward them.
“Who the hell are you?”
Section Chief Kim, standing beside the bespectacled man, leveled his gun at her and demanded.
The woman waggled the finger she'd raised and spoke.
She seemed utterly indifferent to the guns trained on her.
“Take one step from there, and I'll sever a leg. Oh, if you just stand still and shoot? I won't touch your legs.”
The bespectacled man started to step forward at her bright smile but stopped and asked.
“What? Who are you?”
“I'm Ran. Stay put for ten minutes, and I'll send you on your way with all limbs intact.”
She brimmed with absurd self-confidence.
* * *
Ran showed not the slightest waver as she blocked the path of the NIS agents and SWAT team pursuing Dong-jin and Rosen.
If anything, a faint smile played on her lips—pure nonchalance.
“Ten minutes. Just stay right there for ten minutes, and nothing'll happen.”
The bespectacled man was thrown by the exotic beauty's utterly assured demeanor.
A glance sideways showed Section Chief Kim and the SWAT team just as flustered.
“What are you idiots doing? Grab that woman! Arrest her first, then figure out who she is.”
The bespectacled man bellowed the order at the dazed Section Chief Kim and SWAT team.
Section Chief Kim finally came to and signaled the SWAT team with a gesture.
Three SWAT members at the front advanced cautiously on Ran, guns trained.
“Three. Three moving people.”
A cheery note left Ran's lips. Without shifting her stance, she launched herself at the approaching SWAT officers.
As Ran flew forward, the startled SWAT men unleashed a hail of fire from their muzzles.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets punched through Ran's body and shattered the convenience store's glass front.
The remaining female clerk inside dropped to the floor and took cover.
Despite the bullets tearing through her, not a drop of blood spilled as Ran soared in and slammed down onto the central SWAT officer from above.
The shocked officer raised his gun to block, but Ran's right hand sliced through the barrel like butter, seized his collar, and hoisted him up.
The SWAT men flanking him swung the barrels of their stockless K1A submachine guns at Ran's body.
Thud!
A heavy impact rang out, but Ran's expression didn't so much as twitch.
She flipped the lifted officer upside down, extended her left hand to grip his right ankle, and snapped his shin bone with a light tap from her right.
“Argh! My leg!”
A guttural scream erupted from the officer as his shinbone cracked.
Ran hurled the howling officer onto the asphalt, seized the one to her left, spun him inverted, and snapped his shinbone too.
She flung the dangling-legged officer at the SWAT men up front and reached for the one on her right.
The panicked officer tried to dodge, but Ran was faster.
Crack.
One more officer joined the ranks with a shattered right shin.
“What are you doing? Shoot! Blast her! Blast her, I said!”
With three officers instantly writhing and crawling on the asphalt in agony, the bespectacled man screamed in terror.
Gunfire erupted from all directions the instant he gave the order, a deafening roar of bullets.
“You're still fine for now. You haven't taken a single step, so you're good.”
Ran spoke in a calm tone amid the bullet storm.
The ferocious volley tore through her body but failed to draw even a single drop of blood.
It was as futile as firing into empty air.
“Section Chief Kim, what time is it? How much longer til the ten minutes are up?”
The bespectacled man asked without turning his head.
As Section Chief Kim reached for his phone in his pants pocket to check, he lost his balance and butted the bespectacled man's back with his head.
The bespectacled man's left foot lurched forward from the shove to his back.
“Excuse me... miss, this wasn't on purpose.”
Sweat beaded on the bespectacled man's forehead as he politely explained the situation.