Chapter 31
Chapter 31
"Signal received. Cargo manifest matches. Scan results show no anomalies."
"Good. Connect."
With approval from on-site manager Goo Jeong-hyeok, the anchor dropped on the container ship sailing the open sea.
A merchant vessel halted in the middle of the ocean.
How much time passed like that?
Gwooooong—!
Piercing the thick midnight sea fog came another cargo ship of similar size.
The two vessels drew close, nearly touching.
After exchanging laser signals a few times, they connected passages along their hulls.
"Don't dawdle! Move it faster!"
Workers in exoskeleton assists and forklifts began shuttling through the linked passageway.
Peeling off labels from Japanese imports and slapping on pre-prepared Joseon ones.
Watching the frantic laborers from the bridge, Goo Jeong-hyeok clenched his jaw.
"So that's how smuggled goods from Wae or Zhongyuan get in... They use this method."
"Ships entering Joseon from abroad must undergo cargo inspections at port. That's why we're up at this ungodly hour, suffering through it."
Starting work at dawn feels like death.
The man who muttered that, Kim Chang-un, sipped coffee from a paper cup and rubbed his fatigued eyes.
"The ship we're on belongs to Pungyang Trading, and we've secured docking clearance in advance. So the cargo transferred at sea can enter the port without inspection."
"What about bribing the Inspection Bureau officials?"
"A massive container ship swapping cargo in the middle of the sea at midnight? It's suspicious if anyone's watching."
They cleared out other incoming ships for this hour, "inspected" surveillance gear at the perfect time, and sent Inspection Bureau staff monitoring the sea on "leave" for some reason.
And, as you see, the officials paid by Chang-un handled it flawlessly.
"The smuggling ship never entered a Joseon port, and no one saw Pungyang Trading's vessel head out to sea."
"So nothing happened at this port today."
A full container ship's worth of contraband entering Joseon, but no witnesses? By that logic, it wasn't smuggling.
Goo Jeong-hyeok seemed to find the absurdity amusing, chuckling as he lit a cigarette.
Two ships floating silently in the dark sea.
Under yellowish night lights, countless smuggled goods were being loaded onto the Pungyang Jo Clan's vessel.
The moment the clan's most important cargo was loaded...
"Wh-what?! You bastard, where did you—!"
Puk.
One guard monitoring the stern plunged into the sea as a corpse.
"Infiltration successful."
With those short words, Moo-young emerged from the darkness in a wetsuit.
He undid his backpack and pulled out a crudely made device.
"Does this really work?"
Doubting it, Moo-young tilted his head, checked the wiring diagram inside the bag, and connected the wires one by one.
Red wire to port 3, input code 3523.
He flipped the central switch. Red light flashed with short beeps.
And then—
Boom—!
Like a giant balloon bursting, an explosion and shockwave struck the two ships mid-transfer.
"Whoa!"
"What was that? A shock?"
"No waves forecast for today...?"
Startled by the sudden impact, the laborers on deck muttered.
A wave? Or a whale bumping them nearby?
As they puzzled it over—
Clang—!
The cargo ship's deck lights went out in an instant.
"Wh-what?!"
"What the hell?! What's happening?!"
"Damn it, we're busy—why now...!"
The brightly lit deck plunged into darkness, panicking the workers.
They fumbled for flashlights to activate emergency power.
But only for a moment.
Soon, they gaped in disbelief.
"Wait, the flashlight won't turn on...!"
"Aaagh?! Crazy, my cybernetic body isn't working either!"
Not just cybernetics.
Heavy machinery, visual interfaces, ship navigation gear, bridge main computer.
Every electronic device on the ship was dead.
A sudden but all-too-familiar sensation.
Goo Jeong-hyeok's eyes widened in disbelief. This isn't a simple blackout or malfunction. These phenomena are...
EMP explosion.
That realization hit, but it made no sense.
An attack? On a Pungyang Jo Clan ship, no less?
Who? How did they know this rendezvous point?
More than that...
"Why attack us...?"
"Branch Chief! O-over there!"
At that moment, an employee by the window shouted urgently.
In the pitch-black sea, lights appeared.
One, two, four, ten, twenty.
Dozens of lights closing in on their cargo ship.
The lights were jet skis speeding toward them.
Aboard stood thugs in combat cybernetics, grinning fiercely.
Wae pirates.
Sea raiders preying on trade ships between Japan and Joseon.
"Damn...!"
Finally grasping it, Goo Jeong-hyeok yelled.
"Wae pirates! The bastards are boarding!"
"Wae pirates, sir?"
"Can't you see them coming?! Guards, battle stations! Hurry—!"
The sentries fired late, but once they'd closed in, it was useless.
Even unrated low-grade combat cybernetics shrugged off handguns and SMGs.
"Grab machine guns from the armory! Blast them before they board—Guhk?!"
A crewman directing guards took a headshot. A pirate leaped from a jet ski, slamming onto the deck.
Thud—!
A hulking brute over three meters tall landed with a heavy metallic clang.
Facing the red glow of optical sensors in place of eyes, the guards paled in terror.
"Heard it was a noble clan's ship, so I hoped for something. Just frauds."
This won't be fun.
With that, the shadow-wrapped giant swung its arm.
Crush—!
The next instant, the guards' upper bodies aiming pistols vanished.
Splat!
Blood and chunks splattered the deck.
"Oyabun's on deck!"
"Stick close! Laggards die by my hand!"
Dozens more pirates boarded behind him, raising massive nodachi.
"All units, form up! Don't let them advance a step!"
"Looted by Wae pirates? No clue how to report to HQ."
"Grab 'em, interrogate later."
Opposing them, a group gathered from across the ship.
Not regular staff with pistols—the Pungyang Jo Clan's elite security team from HQ.
Cybernetics gleamed under crisp suits, weapons mounting up.
Untouched by EMP—proper military factory gear.
"Good. At least this makes it worth working for."
A chilling laugh echoed as the groups snarled at each other.
Well-armed prestigious clan guards versus pirates loaded with illegal weapons.
As the bloodthirsty factions clashed—
"Yes, fight hard like that."
From the bridge, Chang-un grinned in satisfaction, tossing his empty paper cup.
He directed the smuggling here, luring Goo Jeong-hyeok and guards.
Moo-young hired the pirates, drawing dozens here.
Now, just sit and watch them kill each other.
Screeeee—!
The close blast scrambled Goo Jeong-hyeok's mind mercilessly.
Panic room below the bridge—for protecting VIPs in emergencies.
Useless against the monster before him.
"Guh... guh...!"
Lower body and arms shattered, bleeding out.
That scrap heap was the security team leader dispatched with him from HQ.
"Prestigious clan private troops are always like this. Gear and tech top-notch, but the heads rotten."
Thud—!
The team leader slumped dead in the corner.
Seeing it, Goo Jeong-hyeok snapped.
"Stay back! Don't come closer!"
Bang—!
Bang—!
He fired his hip pistol futilely.
What could a handgun do against armor blocking helicopter heavy machine guns?
HQ sent handpicked elites, yet wiped out unscathed...!
Team gone, naval patrol over ten minutes away.
Ten minutes? That monster could kill them twice over!
"B-back off now! Lowly Wae scum—do you know where this—Guhk?!"
His frantic yell cut short.
"Everyone working for nobles says that."
Mizutani grabbed his throat, slowly lifting him.
As Goo choked, Mizutani's cold voice came.
"Working under prestigious clans, you act noble. Even with blade at your neck, yapping about status."
"Wha...!"
"When a raised dog acts like master, how funny from the owner's view? Right?"
Sharp mockery as the nodachi in his hand gleamed.
Blade nearing.
Chilling vibration and monomolecular cutter hum approaching.
Death inches away, Goo Jeong-hyeok blanched.
"W-wait...! Please, spare m—!"
As Mizutani's nodachi swung to cleave him—
Kaaang—!
A sudden arrow blasted off Mizutani's shoulder.
"?!"
Freed, Goo Jeong-hyeok fainted on the spot.
But Mizutani's gaze shifted.
"Hoo."
Grunting, he looked where the arrow came from.
Panic room entrance.
A boy in a blue dopo aimed his bow at him.
They stared silently.
As Mizutani lunged—
"You're right."
Facing the battle-ready Mizutani, Chang-un spoke immediately.
"Lowborn acting like exec? Hearing it makes me chuckle."
In his hand, a jade-green command token gleamed.
Mizutani's vocalizer growled.
"This complicates things."
Attacking a noble ship? No issue for Mizutani.
Same ship regardless of owner. Strike fast, gone—no pursuit.
But a prestigious clan member appearing personally? Unexpected.
Kill him, Imperial Guard comes for my head. Release, my face to Royal Guard.
Damned either way. Perfect bind.
Shouldn't have taken noble jobs.
Sighing inwardly, Mizutani kept blade ready and asked Chang-un.
"Noble lord, what brings you here? To take this thief's head for drinks?"
"Harsh. Actually, the opposite."
Unlike wary Mizutani, Chang-un casually lowered his bow.
Fleeing chance—Mizutani shifted.
"You handled the job as ordered. My plan's smooth thanks to you. Fat reward coming."
"...What?"
Chang-un's words stunned him.
Ordered job? Plan? Reward?
What is this?
As Mizutani reeled, Moo-young's comm came—mission done.
-Withdraw with your men, Mizutani. Job's done. Pay via the account I told you.
"Withdraw? Don't joke. A prestigious clan member's seen my face—can't just...!"
-No need to worry.
Moo-young's firm words.
What followed left Mizutani speechless.
-The man you're facing? He's the one who hired you for this raid.