Chapter 130
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Aftermath and Standoff
BOOM! BOOM!
Kanghyeok, his suit scorched black and burned away, fired the shotgun at the MK2 again and again.
The recoil slammed into his shoulder, and his healed eardrums registered the vivid blast, but it wasn't unbearable.
His regenerative abilities hadn't improved to the point where he couldn't feel pain.
If anything, it felt like being a log thrown into a furnace, destined to burn forever.
It was agonizing, excruciating, and draining.
Yet, he could calmly pull the shotgun's trigger because he saw a glimmer of hope.
He could see the end of this fight.
CRUNCH!
"Grrruuuhhh!"
This was the same MK2 that had moved just fine after being hit by a grenade.
But with its movement-enhancing systems and shock-absorbing buffers all blown out, it now groaned in agony from the shotgun blasts.
He could see the end of this fight.
CLICK!
Kanghyeok ejected the empty drum magazine, slammed in a new one, and aimed at the thing's head.
BOOM!
The heated and softened helmet buckled under the shotgun blast, crushing the face beneath it.
"Keeeiiihhh!"
With a desperate scream, the thing grabbed Kanghyeok's ankle.
SZZZZT!
"Ugh!"
The MK2's superheated armor touched his ankle, sending a searing pain through him as if branded by a hot iron.
WHAM! THUD!
Kanghyeok, now fallen beside it, raised his shotgun and fired at its face again.
CRACK!
The MK2's head snapped back, freeing his ankle.
"Grk! Grrrk!"
But the MK2 immediately seized his shoe, and even after another shotgun blast, it didn't let go.
Feeling an excruciating pain as if the bones in his foot were melting, Kanghyeok kept pulling the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Still, the MK2 refused to let go, instead pulling him closer. It then tried to roll its body over, and Kanghyeok understood its intention.
It was trying to crush him with its own body.
Perhaps it had concluded that escape was pointless with its full-body burns; it seemed resigned to death.
'Vicious bastards!'
Seeing the gleaming eyes through the helmet's visor, Kanghyeok's lips twisted.
These guys, ready to die, were always the worst.
SCRRRAAPE!
When Kanghyeok didn't move as it wanted, the thing started dragging the minigun.
WHIIIRRR.
The three slowly rotating barrels gradually turned toward Kanghyeok.
Its will to kill him, no matter what, felt clearer than the flames.
'Fine, let's end this.'
Kanghyeok straddled the MK2, which was lying on its side.
Then he pulled a grenade from his pocket.
An explosion at this range would undoubtedly blow Kanghyeok to pieces. The MK2 couldn't have been unaware of this, and its eyes showed a flicker of satisfaction.
But he had no intention of playing by its rules.
TICK!
The creature's eyes, which had remained steady even after he pulled the safety pin, now contorted.
Clatter.
Because Kanghyeok had dropped the grenade behind the MK2's back and was using his gun to try and roll its body over.
The armor plate on the MK2's back had been weakened by the impact of the battery explosion.
Five seconds until the grenade detonated.
Realizing Kanghyeok's plan, the MK2 reached out and seized his wrist.
HISSSS!
White smoke billowed from Kanghyeok's wrist, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
"Grrrhh!"
Three seconds left.
Kanghyeok let go of the gun and grabbed the MK2's shoulder.
SZZZZZZT!
As his palm felt like it was on fire, the MK2's back slowly turned toward the floor.
Two seconds left.
WHOOSH!
In the middle of the fiercely burning living room, Kanghyeok and the MK2 were locked in a life-or-death struggle. It was a contest of strength between the MK2, its body mostly destroyed by burns, and Kanghyeok, whose body was constantly regenerating.
The MK2's shoulder moved quickly toward the floor.
Thud.
With one second to spare, both of the MK2's shoulders hit the floor perfectly flat.
A moment later,
BOOOOM!
The MK2's body convulsed with the violent explosion.
Its chest plate became pockmarked, as if stabbed dozens of times from the inside with an awl, and blood trickled from its helmet like tears.
It was over.
Looking at the motionless MK2, Kanghyeok thought so.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
Kanghyeok staggered to his feet.
He then pushed through the raging flames that threatened to consume him and walked toward the hallway.
The fire had spread to the hallway, but it wasn't as intense as in the living room.
Unlike the melted touchpad in the living room, the one here was intact.
Beep.
Kanghyeok pressed a button, cutting off the oxygen supply and activating the fire suppression system.
SHWAAAAA!
A white liquid, a mixture of sodium bicarbonate solution and sodium hydroxide, rained down from the ceiling.
The flames, drenched by the white, rain-like liquid, were extinguished in an instant.
Kanghyeok, his soot-stained face now streaked with the white liquid, collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
He couldn't straighten his elbows or knees.
The severe burns had caused his skin to tighten like plastic thrown into a bonfire.
He looked down at his palms, dark red and oozing fluid.
All ten of his fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
Still, all of this felt okay.
SHWAAAAA!
As the white rain fell on him, Kanghyeok curled into a ball, deliberately expanding his chest to take deep breaths.
"Hooo, hooo, hooo."
Who knew that being able to breathe freely could feel so gratifying?
A wave of relief washed over him, and the tension drained away.
He had never had a fight like this in his life, nor had he ever encountered an enemy like that.
It was an experience he never wanted to repeat.
CRACKLE.
The sound of his body regenerating all over felt almost like a comfort.
Kanghyeok moved his fingers.
The cooked ligaments seemed to have healed, as they moved normally.
He slowly got to his feet.
SHWAAA.
The white liquid was tapering off, and the fire was almost out, leaving only a faint glow.
He rubbed his face, wiping away the white liquid and soot, then pressed the touchpad to deactivate the security system.
The battle was over, but one thing remained.
'Iron Mask.'
That bastard's helicopter, the one that brought the MK2, was nearby.
Click.
He pressed a button, and the bulletproof shutters covering the windows retracted.
The security system that had sealed the front door was also disengaged.
As if a stifled airway had been cleared, the safe house was once again connected to the outside world.
Kanghyeok checked that the guns slung over his body were functional and ran to the front door.
BANG!
He kicked the door open, and the first thing he saw was a helicopter hovering high in the air.
THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!
The roaring helicopter was ascending slowly.
As if it had landed once and was now taking off again.
'No way.'
Kanghyeok's gaze darted to the vehicle the enemies had brought to the safe house.
It was the car that had contained the hazardous materials, but now its trunk was wide open.
THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!
Having retrieved the hazardous materials, the bastards were now leaving as if their business was done.
"Sons of bitches."
Kanghyeok raised the shotgun with the grenade launcher attached, then swapped it for a rifle.
Perhaps having confirmed that Kanghyeok had emerged from the safe house, the helicopter was rapidly gaining altitude, moving out of the grenade launcher's range.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
A few of the bullets he fired struck the helicopter's underbelly, but it didn't even flinch.
'Bulletproofed.'
Realizing he couldn't shoot down the helicopter without something like a rocket launcher, Kanghyeok lowered his rifle.
But he kept his eyes locked on it.
He could see him.
A man in silver, looking down at him from the helicopter's open door.
Iron Mask, wearing a winter robe that billowed endlessly in the propeller's downdraft, and Kanghyeok stared at each other.
The helicopter stopped climbing.
This allowed the two men to observe each other, etching the other's image deep into their retinas and minds.
This person is dangerous.
He shouldn't exist.
He must be killed.
Both were thinking the same thing.
Kanghyeok watched Iron Mask, conscious of the rifle in his hands.
Then, in a single motion, he raised the rifle and fired without any preparatory movement.
Not at the helicopter, but at Iron Mask.
PING!
The bullet ricocheted off his chest, but Iron Mask didn't fall.
Covered head to toe in bulletproof metal, Iron Mask felt no impact. He raised a thumb.
Then, looking down at Kanghyeok, he tilted his head back and drew his thumb across his own throat.
And he spoke in a low voice.
"Let's go."
"But..."
One of his subordinates trailed off, looking at the guns mounted on the side of the helicopter.
"That's enough for today. We'll save it for next time."
As Iron Mask spoke, his eyes still fixed on Kanghyeok, his men suppressed their disappointment and looked away from the weapons.
"Understood."
"We're returning to base! Turn us around."
THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!
As the helicopter rose higher and turned, Kanghyeok aimed his rifle, set to full auto.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
He pulled the trigger until his index finger ached, but the helicopter calmly flew away.
CLICK!
The rifle, out of bullets, made an empty sound.
Lowering the now slightly lighter rifle, Kanghyeok watched the helicopter.
He kept watching until it disappeared from view.
"Situation clear."
In the company's basement, an agent wearing headphones spoke in a low voice, and a quiet sense of elation spread like wildfire.
If the executives hadn't been standing behind them, their reactions might have been more explosive.
Click.
One of the agents, after turning off his headset microphone, let out a deep sigh of relief and shivered briefly. The agent next to him, organizing data, kept glancing at Kanghyeok's feed.
A faint smile played on his lips.
They hadn't managed to shoot down the helicopter or recover the hazardous materials.
But they had brilliantly completed a seemingly impossible mission with minimal personnel.
A series of events had occurred where it wouldn't have been strange for them to be killed by the assailants attacking the city.
It wouldn't have been strange if the city, with its safe house and agents, had been reduced to ashes.
But that didn't happen.
The damage was minimized, and not a single agent lost their life.
At the center of it all was Kanghyeok.
It was more than enough to leave a deep impression on the agents who had watched the entire process via satellite.
Grind.
Amidst a teeth-grinding Gary Chang and several other executives, William took a slow, meditative breath.
He let out a long exhale through his lips and shifted his gaze to Cohen.
He was looking at William, too.
*What do you think? Are you satisfied with Kanghyeok?*
*Isn't he someone you can trust?*
*I think I'll trust him.*
*Because from what I've seen so far, he seems to be that kind of person.*
When William nodded, his eyes filled with deep thought, Cohen responded with a nod of his own.
At that, William turned his gaze forward again, the corners of his mouth lifting in a faint smile, imperceptible to the others.
Beep.
Activating his microphone, he addressed the staff beyond the glass wall.
"Begin tracking that helicopter's route now. Find its destination."
He felt Gary Chang's sharp gaze from the side.
William turned only his eyes toward him and continued.
"There may be interference, but don't give up until the very end."
Some agents wondered why William was giving the orders instead of Cohen. But since Cohen was silently watching William, the agents quickly replied that they understood.
Their voices were full of energy.
THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!
The helicopter, crossing a sky dyed a deep violet and veiled by clouds, captured everyone's attention.
The few remaining gang members still alive, the citizens fighting alongside them over the barricades, Leila and her spotter with a sniper rifle on a rooftop.
And Santiago and his deputy team leader.
Even Yohan, who had been left behind as a spare.
THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP-THWAP!
Yohan stared blankly up at the roaring helicopter as it drifted away from the city.
He didn't know what that helicopter was.
But there was something about its ominous appearance and the fact that it came from the direction of the safe house that eased his tension.
'Is it over?'
Yohan shifted his gaze from the helicopter to the sky.
The night was deep and dark.
As if the sun could rise at any moment.