Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: The Black Giant
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*Click!*
(No suits around. What's the plan? Do we start now?)
The gang member kept his eyes fixed on the supermarket as he raised his radio.
“Let's start as soon as we're ready.”
*Click!*
(Okay. You heard him, you bastards. Get ready.)
The faint sounds of multiple people moving could be heard over the radio.
It wasn't just civilians gathering.
The gangs, noticing the civilians converging on the supermarket, had also assembled in the area.
They had long since realized the situation was turning sour.
Dealing with Yohan and Leila was already a handful, but now even the citizens were pointing guns at them.
“Taking over this city was a lost cause anyway.”
A gang member muttered from a car parked a short distance from the supermarket, and the men in the back seat unzipped their bags.
*Zzzzip!*
Inside the bags were the radios and firearms used by Iron Mask's men.
*Clack, clack.*
The gang members each took a gun, glaring menacingly at the supermarket.
Just then, one of them picked up a radio and turned it on.
“We're ready! Let's do this! Even if we're going down, we have to make an example out of those trash.”
Every gang member agreed.
They could stomach their comrades being sacrificed to Yohan and Leila, but they couldn't bear having guns pointed at them by mere citizens.
*Click!*
(We're ready.)
*Click!*
(Us too.)
*Click!*
(Anyone not ready?)
As time passed, no requests to wait or shouts of "Not yet!" came over the radio.
The scattered gangs gritted their teeth and began to move.
*Thud.*
One even appeared on a rooftop overlooking the supermarket, a Molotov cocktail in hand.
*Fshhh! Fwoosh!*
After lighting the wick, he hurled it with all his might toward the supermarket.
*Crash! Fwoosh!*
The shattered bottle set the asphalt ablaze, illuminating the darkness.
*Whump-whump-whump-whump-whump!*
Watching the helicopter descend toward the ground like a sinking rock, Kanghyeok sharpened his senses.
Protocol 8.
They had come here to execute it.
*'How will they come at me?'*
The helicopter had no mounted machine guns or missiles. But there was no guarantee the same was true for what was inside.
The doors could fly open, unleashing a hail of bullets or an RPG, or they could attack in some other bizarre fashion.
*'A little closer. Just a little more and it'll be in range.'*
Kanghyeok watched the helicopter, mindful of the grenade launcher attached to his shotgun.
It was ready to fire, but the helicopter hadn't yet descended into effective range.
*Whump-whump-whump-whump-whump!*
The helicopter suddenly stopped mid-air, and Kanghyeok's lips twisted into a smirk.
*'Did they notice?'*
This had happened before, hadn't it?
In the Middle East.
A helicopter had approached then, too, and he had shot it down with a grenade.
As if aware of that, they stopped their descent at a height just out of the grenade's reach.
*Click.*
Still, something was bound to happen.
Just as Kanghyeok switched to his rifle and flipped off the safety, the helicopter's side door slid open.
And then Kanghyeok saw him.
A massive man clad in silver armor.
He stood out starkly against the deep darkness, looking down at Kanghyeok.
Looking up at him, Kanghyeok felt a strange sensation.
He had never seen anyone like that before.
Yet, he felt as if they had met somewhere before.
A deep resentment, killing intent, and fury, not even hidden by the helmet, radiated from him.
*Who are you?*
*Why are you looking at me like that?*
Looking down at the questioning Kanghyeok, Iron Mask felt hot blood course through his veins.
*'I've finally found you.'*
Kanghyeok was down there, looking exactly as he did in his memories.
The man who had driven him to his death and taken everything from him was right below.
*Grrrrind!*
Blood trickled from his gums.
He wanted to leap from the helicopter right this instant, but today was not the day.
The time to face him in a more complete state, to truly test their strength and achieve a perfect victory, had not yet come.
*'I am still incomplete.'*
Sorrow and rage threatened to tear his heart apart. Iron Mask clutched his chest, then stepped back from the door with a heated exhale.
And in his place, a black giant appeared.
It was a figure clad in bulletproof armor of the same material that covered Iron Mask's body.
“Target acquired! Stand by!”
“Ready for deployment!”
“Cable attached! Descending now!”
The shouts from the helicopter were drowned out by the propeller noise and didn't reach Kanghyeok.
But the premonition that the black giant would soon be coming for him was chillingly clear.
*Clank!*
The moment the cable was attached to the giant's back, Kanghyeok shouldered his rifle.
And as he pulled the trigger, aiming at the giant, the figure leaped from the helicopter.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
Even with the cable connected to the helicopter slowing its descent, the giant fell toward the ground at high speed.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
The rifle's bullets slammed into the giant like iron filings drawn to a magnet, but only the sound of ricochets could be heard. The giant's head neither drooped nor snapped back.
The implication was clear.
*'Full-body armor.'*
The first thing that came to mind were the men in full-body bulletproof suits he had seen in the Middle East.
But they hadn't been as massive as this thing.
“An MK2, maybe.”
*Thooom!*
When the giant hit the ground, the vibration reached all the way to Kanghyeok.
Estimated weight: 220 kilograms.
Height: 230 centimeters? Maybe 250.
It was enormous, but the thick armor plates covering its entire body made it feel twice its actual size.
The miniguns attached to both hands amplified that impression.
Kanghyeok focused on the creature's miniguns.
The three-barreled rotating miniguns were larger than medium machine guns.
It was wielding models meant to be mounted on military helicopters in both hands.
It was an intimidating sight.
But with the heavy weight of the armor and miniguns, how could it even move properly?
No sooner had he thought this than the giant raised both hands toward him.
*Whirrrr!*
The six barrels let out a chilling whine, and Kanghyeok instinctively threw himself to the side, a sense of dread surging through him.
*Dak-dak-dak-dak-dak-dak!*
The gunshots tore through the air, the bullets through the earth.
“Kgh!”
The bullets shadowed Kanghyeok's rapid movements.
*Dak-dak-dak-dak-dak-dak!*
Clumps of dirt shot high into the air, raining down.
Corpses were shredded, flying about like popcorn, and the ground where the bullets passed was riddled with grotesque holes, like styrofoam touched by embers.
*Dak-dak-dak-dak-dak!*
Dodging the hailstorm of bullets, Kanghyeok took cover behind the safe house and switched back to his shotgun.
He quickly checked the attached grenade launcher and fired a round at the giant.
*Thwump!*
The grenade landed at the giant's feet.
*KABOOM!*
A massive explosion engulfed it.
Kanghyeok stared intently at where the giant should be within the cloud of dust, his lips pressed into a firm line.
The MK1 he had faced in the Middle East had its limbs blown off by a grenade.
*So, what about you?*
*Can you withstand an explosion of this magnitude?*
*Psssssh.*
Watching the dust settle, Kanghyeok's lips curled up, baring a canine.
*Thump, thump.*
Because he could see the giant slowly walking out through the cloud of dust.
*Click.*
An agent monitoring the city pressed a button, and a red light blinked on in the top-left corner of the massive screen.
Emergency situation.
It was a warning triggered when a combat agent's life was deemed to be in danger, not one that lit up easily.
The executives watching the monitor from behind a glass wall had grim faces, each reacting differently.
Some wrung their clasped hands until their knuckles turned white; others moistened their dry throats with water.
Still others loosened their ties and exhaled, or drummed their fingernails on the tabletop.
“Damn it.”
William muttered the curse, forgetting he was in front of the other executives.
It was good that the enemy's satellite jamming device had finally disappeared.
But the situation that followed felt like a tightening noose.
The gangs' counterattack.
And the monstrous being that had descended upon Kanghyeok.
*Beep.*
“Zoom in.”
At Cohen's hoarse command, an agent zoomed in on the area around the safe house.
There was no sound, but the video feed was clear.
A giant covered in black metal was attacking Kanghyeok with miniguns.
The giant, walking around unfazed even after being hit by a grenade, was reminiscent of a tank.
*'Was their technology this advanced?'*
William covered his mouth with his palm and clenched his jaw.
To have that kind of mobility despite being clad in bulletproof armor and wielding miniguns…
It felt like watching a monster that shouldn't exist.
If it was like this just watching, what must it be like for the one facing it?
*Beep.*
“Begin analysis. We need to find out everything we can.”
The fact that the attacker on the safe house was operating such equipment was a chilling development for the company.
At Vice President Cohen's order, the agents busily sent data to the analysis room. William cautiously shifted his gaze to Cohen.
Cohen, too, seemed to have no idea what it was.
*Then?*
He carefully observed the other executives, especially those who might obstruct the company's operations, but they also seemed unaware of this equipment.
“Let's move support troops to Kanghyeok.”
One of the directors had just spoken.
“If we do that and lose the support troops as well, our losses will only increase.”
The one who retorted was Gary Chang.
He continued, pointedly looking at William.
“They are also saving civilians.”
“But at this rate, we'll lose a team leader-level asset.”
“He's a contractor. And even if we incur a loss, it's not a complete wash. This incident could strengthen our relationship with the U.S. government. We must minimize our losses in any way we can.”
When the discussion turned to a matter of loss and gain, the executives fell silent.
Quite a few of them sided with Gary Chang, but their expressions were uneasy.
An attacker on a company safe house was deploying immense firepower.
“The field agent's judgment takes precedence.”
All eyes turned to Cohen, who had suddenly spoken. He looked at Gary Chang, then the other executives, and said in a low voice,
“We will maintain the current situation, but if a request for support comes in, the company will assist Kanghyeok as a top priority.”
Gary Chang ran his tongue over a canine and gave a short nod. The other executives also showed their assent with tightly pressed lips.
It was then.
(The analysis results are in.)
The agent at the monitor spoke, and Cohen activated his microphone.
“Put it on the screen.”
*Click.*
The agent typed on the keyboard, and a 3D model of the giant attacking the safe house appeared on the right side of the screen.
Rotating the 3D model with the mouse, the agent spoke in a careful yet rapid tone.
(Shock absorbers are installed in every joint. The armor material is unknown but is presumed to be a titanium-zirconium alloy.)
*Beep!*
“Can Kanghyeok's current armament penetrate it?”
The agent answered immediately.
(Impossible.)
“Then is there no other way?”
Cohen's voice was sharper than usual. The agent showed the back of the model.
Then, still seated, he turned his upper body to meet Cohen's gaze.
(It appears to be wearing a PES—Powered Exo-Skeleton. The power source installed on the back plate is presumed to be its only weakness.)
A sliver of hope found in the midst of despair.
William unknowingly clenched his fists, glaring at the monitor.
He watched the battle between Kanghyeok and the creature in the exoskeleton suit displayed in the center of the screen, and soon his eyes widened.
While William was reacting, Cohen was speaking with the agent through the microphone.
“Relay that to Kanghyeok. Now.”
(Understood. I will connect with Leila's comms.)
As the agent turned back toward the monitor, William rose silently from his chair like a ghost, his eyes fixed on the screen.
“William? What is it?”
Despite Cohen's question, William couldn't answer right away.
He could only stare at the monitor.
Then, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he shifted his gaze to Cohen.
His eyes held no trace of worry or concern.
Instead, they were filled with relief and hope as he watched Kanghyeok on the screen.