Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Powerless Attacking the Powerless (3)
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GRRRROOOOAN!
Steering with one hand, Kanghyeok swapped out the rifle's magazine.
The road was deserted, so there was nothing in his way.
Click.
After pulling back the bolt to finish reloading, Kanghyeok ran his tongue over his canines. The bastards were clearly up to something, but with the company's support cut off, he couldn't monitor their movements.
It felt like a smoke grenade had gone off in the middle of a firefight.
The frustration was as suffocating as driving down this dark, unlit road at night.
Sucking in his lips, Kanghyeok drove toward his destination from memory and spotted a car parked in front of a building.
At first, he almost drove right past it.
The bastards were always circling the building.
But the car was intact, and more importantly, he'd seen a faint silhouette in the driver's seat as he passed. Kanghyeok slammed on the brakes.
Screeeech!
The sports car spun halfway around as it came to a screeching halt, and the car in front of the building started its engine.
Vrooooom!
As the car tried to flee, Kanghyeok wrenched the wheel and stomped on the accelerator.
GRRRROOOOAN!
A fiercer engine roar and vibration than ever washed over him.
Inside the car, which felt like a beast ready to rampage, Kanghyeok shot a sharp glance at the other vehicle.
His hand moved to the rifle.
I don't have time for this.
I have to figure out the true purpose of Protocol 8, and I have to stop you.
I don't have time to deal with you safely and gently like before.
But don't feel too wronged.
You brought this on yourselves.
GRRRROOOOAN!
In an instant, the gap between the cars closed.
Screech!
Kanghyeok turned the wheel, pulling up alongside their car, and saw the men inside through the driver's side window.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The fierce gunfire wasn't his.
It was bullets from the other car.
Thwack-thwack-thwack! Crack, crack!
The bullets ricocheted off the bulletproof glass or embedded themselves, leaving small scars on the window.
One of them flew straight for Kanghyeok's eye.
“Damn it! It's bulletproof!”
The man in the driver's seat glanced in panic at the sports car before looking forward again.
“Keep shooting!”
Vroooom! Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The man in the passenger seat fired his rifle in bursts, and the driver tried to speed up.
Matching their speed, Kanghyeok brought his rifle to his own window.
Thwack! Crack, crack, crack!
As their bullets peppered the glass like heavy rain on a transparent umbrella, Kanghyeok pulled the trigger.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
One-way bulletproof glass.
It blocked incoming bullets but let outgoing ones pass through without resistance. The glass was the company's pride and joy.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
The head of the man in the passenger seat exploded,
Screeeeech!
and as the driver slammed on the brakes, his head snapped to the side.
A harsh wind blew in through the shattered car window.
Kanghyeok accelerated the sports car and yanked the wheel sideways.
Craaaash!
“Ugh!”
When their car slammed into his driver's side door, the impact felt like being kicked by a bull.
Screeeeech!
And with the smell of burning tires, the cars stopped.
Having stopped all the cars carrying bombs, Kanghyeok exhaled and lifted his head.
It was then.
He saw a car disappear around a corner at the end of the road. It was an SUV, a dirty, old vehicle common in this area.
An ordinary car that would have been perfectly normal to ignore.
But strangely, a bad taste filled his mouth, and a sense of unease washed over him.
‘No way...’
It was the same feeling he got when, after ambushing a criminal, he saw another bastard turn tail and run.
“Tch!”
It was a shame the company's system was down.
If it were working, he'd know where that car came from and where it was going.
Screech! Groan!
First, Kanghyeok returned to the building, grabbed only his rifle, and got out.
He ran into the building, then came back out, his face contorted.
‘It's gone!’
The hazardous material that should have been in the building.
The drum containing the substance that could kill a person with just skin contact was gone.
Kanghyeok jumped back into the sports car, tossed the rifle onto the passenger seat, and immediately started the engine.
Then, recalling the appearance of the car he'd just seen, he slammed on the accelerator.
He had to find it.
Where that car was headed.
Where they were moving the hazardous material!
Haa, haa.
Tense breaths froze white in the cold air.
Inside the supermarket.
The people who had thoroughly blocked the parking lot entrance with a barricade were crouched by the windows, hiding. In their hands were guns they had taken from the gangs.
“Fuck, fuuuck.”
A young man muttered, earning a sharp look from an old man next to him.
His face tense, he fell silent and stared at the barricade, sharing the same feeling as everyone else.
Now, this place would allow no one to enter.
Not the gangs, not Leila who had helped them, not anyone else from the city.
Their faces as hard as their resolve, the people in the supermarket gripped their guns tightly.
And at that moment, there were others heading for the supermarket.
“Ugh!”
Was it because they had been walking quickly without rest?
Or was it the cold air and the fear of running into the gangs again at any moment?
An old man walking behind Yohan grimaced and stumbled. Yohan turned and immediately hooked his arm under the man's elbow.
“We're almost there. Just a little more.”
“You've been saying that for a while...”
“We really are almost there. You know it's just ahead.”
“Damn it.”
The old man groaned as Yohan helped him to his feet.
And with the others, he followed Yohan until they arrived in front of the supermarket.
“W-what is this.”
“It's blocked, isn't it?”
“Hey, you didn't say anything about this!”
Seeing the barricade completely blocking the parking lot entrance, the people's faces turned from white to a sickly pale.
Yohan, especially, felt his heart sink.
“No.”
Clank!
The moment Yohan's fingers touched the barricade.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from inside the supermarket. People screamed and backed away. Yohan covered his head, then lowered his hands.
A group of people holding rifles was pouring out of the supermarket.
And from behind the barricade, they aimed their guns at Yohan.
“Go away! No one gets in!”
“Take this down! Now!”
“What if other people come after we take it down?”
The man spoke with a voice and eyes as desperate as they were fearful. The rifle in his hands trembled for reasons other than the cold.
What if they opened the barricade, only to be attacked by the gangs?
There were many families in the supermarket.
To protect their families, they couldn't possibly open the gate.
“Hey! Open this! Now!”
“What is this?!”
“There are old people and women here!”
“Shut up! We have them here too!”
Bang!
From behind, a middle-aged man with gleaming eyes fired a shot into the air.
“Get lost, now! Before I put a hole in your head!”
Click.
As the man's gun aimed at the people beyond the barricade, they backed away with murmurs of "Whoa, whoa."
And they shot Yohan looks filled with deep betrayal and anger.
Yohan was just as bewildered.
He had long known about the selfishness of the city's people.
But he never imagined they would show their selfishness even in a situation like this.
He never imagined that the very people he had tried to save would point guns at him.
‘How could they...’
Just as a wave of betrayal and doubt was about to wash over him.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
A spray of bullets flew in from a distance.
“Aaargh!”
A man hit by a bullet clutched his thigh and rolled on the ground. The others, their faces pale, pressed against the barricade and shook it frantically.
Clank-clank-clank!
“Open it! Open up!”
“We can't! Go away, please!”
Yohan's eyes widened as he looked in the direction the bullets had come from.
He saw car headlights and a man leaning out of the passenger side with his upper body and a gun.
The situation he had feared most.
The gangs had reached the supermarket.
Instinct and intuition told Yohan he had two choices.
Leave these people behind.
Or fight for them.
Would he take up a gun for these selfish people, or would he let them face the consequences of their selfishness?
Vroooom.
The approaching vehicle seemed to say that he didn't have much time to decide.
Grit.
Having made his decision, Yohan raised his gun, his face contorted.
“I have no choice.”
He muttered softly, life returning to his eyes.
He had wanted to be someone's hope, and he had taken up a gun to avenge those who killed his mother.
And this was the place where his mother had been murdered by the gangs.
Today, in this place, he would not let anyone die.
Crack! Crack!
The head of the man leaning out of the passenger seat with his head, arm, and gun snapped back.
Thud, clatter, thud-thud-thud.
The rifle fell from his hand and tumbled across the asphalt. The man in the driver's seat spat a curse.
“Son of a bitch!”
Vrooom! Thump!
The car jumped the curb and charged madly toward Yohan.
“Aah!”
“G-get out of the way!”
People threw themselves to the left and right, but the car paid them no mind, only picking up speed.
“Kuaaaargh!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
A scream erupted from an old man whose ankle was run over, and a shriek from a woman who was hit in the side.
In front of them, Yohan dove to the side, raising his pistol.
Scraaaaape!
It was the moment the side of the van scraped against the barricade.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Yohan's pistol spat out three bullets.
The bullets pierced the door, and the person in the seat behind the passenger screamed horribly and slumped over. The van sped past Yohan, barely missing him.
Screeech!
The van screeched to a halt a short distance away, and the gang members got out, using it as cover.
“Everyone, run!”
At Yohan's urgent shout, the people outside the barricade hastily fled.
“G-get up, quickly!”
“Aghhh!”
The sight of them forcing the fallen to their feet and helping them along brought Yohan a small measure of comfort.
Then.
“You bastard! Die! Die!”
Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat!
The men unleashed a hail of bullets. Yohan dove behind a street tree and ejected the magazine from his pistol.
‘Rounds left...’
Thwack!
“Kuh!”
A bullet slammed into his bulletproof vest, and Yohan cried out as he fell. Terrible pain brought tears to his eyes, but he pushed himself up and took cover behind the tree again.
Then he began to return fire to keep them from advancing.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Crack! Thwip! Pssht!
The people hiding behind the barricade could see Yohan fighting for his life amid the storm of bullets.
“Get back! Now!”
Yohan shouted at them too, pointing toward the supermarket.
Rat-tat-tat-tat! Thud!
“Kugh! Kuugh!”
Yohan flinched, then clutched his leg in pain.
His suit had stopped it, but it was the first time he'd been shot somewhere not covered by his vest.
It hadn't penetrated, but the full force of the bullet had been transferred to his body.
“Hh! Haaah!”
Tears streamed down Yohan's face from the agonizing pain, which made him wonder if a bone had broken, as he extended the hand holding the pistol.
Crack!
The gang member who had shot him clutched his shoulder and fell, letting out a piercing scream.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The gunfire grew more intense, along with the sound of magazines being changed.
In a space where the overwhelming fear would have made an untrained person lose their mind in an instant, Yohan pulled the pistol's trigger.
“I told you to get back!”
Yohan shouted in a strained voice, but the people inside the barricade couldn't bring themselves to leave.
They could only watch him, shielding their faces with their arms for fear of ricochets or gripping their own guns with trembling hands.
‘Why is he going this far?’
‘He could just run away. Why is he being such an idiot...’
Yohan was younger than them.
The same Yohan they had scorned as "that woman's son."
That Yohan was fighting against the gangs, while they were hiding behind a barricade just to save their own skins. A sense of alienation washed over them.
It was then.
Rat-tat-tat!
A bullet fired by one of the men slammed squarely into Yohan's elbow.
“Kuaargh!”
Right after Yohan dropped his pistol, groaning and shedding tears.
“Yohaaaan!”
From across the street, a man about Yohan's age shouted loudly.
Bang!
And he fired his revolver at the gang members who were trying to emerge from behind the van.
Yohan, his face trembling with pain, turned his head and felt his expression soften.
“Juan?”
His lips were pressed tight, his legs trembling in fear.
And yet, with eyes more intense than ever, Juan was aiming his revolver at the gangs from across the street.