Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Nobody
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Episode 28, Chapter 10. What Do I Do? (1)
Deep darkness and the faint light of a cell phone.
Stale air and the ragged breaths of terrified gang members.
Kanghyeok willingly threw himself into the heart of it, swinging his kukri.
Rip!
A gang member clutched his slit throat, spinning as he fell.
Crack!
Severed hair, flesh, and blood scattered through the air.
Clang!
He blocked a rifle, swung like a club, with his kukri.
Holding the block, Kanghyeok shoved the man back and pressed his pistol to his chest.
Crack!
One shot to the chest.
Crack!
Another to the head of a man charging at him.
Squish.
He stabbed the kukri into the neck of the man he’d shot in the chest.
Click.
A man who had managed to reload his rifle with trembling hands raised it and aimed at Kanghyeok. But aiming true in this deep darkness, with only the dim light of a cell phone, was no easy task.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The rifle, its trigger pulled in a panic, spewed bullets, hitting other gang members, the walls, the ceiling, and a few struck Kanghyeok’s shoulder and back.
Crack!
Kanghyeok answered with a pistol shot to the man’s head.
No one noticed Kanghyeok had been hit, and he himself paid it no mind.
His movements had only slowed for a moment.
Crack!
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kanghyeok pulled the trigger.
Thud!
Another man who had succeeded in reloading his weapon collapsed, blood streaming from his forehead.
For the gangsters, it was a horrifying sight.
Crack! Crack!
With every bullet fired, a flash erupted from the muzzle.
These flashes briefly illuminated the scene, revealing only the swinging kukri and the firing pistol.
Crack!
Kanghyeok fired as if the darkness meant nothing, and with each shot, a gang member's head snapped back.
“Die!”
One of the gangsters charged, swinging his rifle.
Snatch! Whoosh.
Kanghyeok grabbed his wrist and, like a judo master, slammed him to the floor, then pressed his knee onto the man’s throat.
“Gck! Gurgle!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
He fired a staccato burst, hitting the other gangsters in the neck, chest, and between the eyes.
Flick.
Kanghyeok reversed his grip on the kukri and aimed for the pinned man's neck.
Thump.
“Guuuh! Gck!”
The man, using all the strength he had left in his life, blocked Kanghyeok’s wrist, letting out a grotesque scream as he held back the kukri.
Slam!
Kanghyeok then used the momentum of his upper body to slam his kukri-wielding hand down. Like a nail struck by a hammer, the blade sank deep into the man’s neck.
Schlick.
Twisting the kukri to pull it free, Kanghyeok gasped for breath and pressed the button on his pistol.
Click.
As Kanghyeok ejected the empty magazine and inserted a new one, no one dared to attack him.
There were only those pretending to be dead and those who truly were.
And those too paralyzed by fear to even move.
Kanghyeok stood up and pulled back the pistol's slide. A gang member whose eyes met his shook his head, his gaze pleading.
Crack!
Kanghyeok shot him in the head, then moved among the corpses, putting a bullet in the head of anyone feigning death.
Crack! Crack!
A heavy silence fell.
The area was dark, and the gang members' cell phones, scattered on the floor, illuminated only the dead.
Just as a profound silence, so deep it felt as if he were alone in the world, descended upon him.
(Kanghyeok?)
The communication device in his ear relayed Leila’s voice.
“Go ahead.”
(That was the last of them.)
Had she seen everything?
Leila’s voice trembled slightly, like someone who had just witnessed the unbelievable.
(As of now, there appear to be no other survivors.)
“The upper floors?”
(None. They were all gathered on that floor.)
Kanghyeok’s gaze shifted to the window.
Below, under a streetlight, he could see the black car Leila was in.
It was a position with a view of the entire building.
“I’ll check and then come down.”
(Should I come with you?)
“No, wait there.”
Kanghyeok holstered his kukri and ejected the magazine to check the remaining rounds.
There was always the possibility of a ‘what if.’
Always.
A man could be waiting, holding his breath with a loaded gun clutched to his chest, or some unforeseen variable might be ready to spring.
Pistol in hand, Kanghyeok started up the stairs.
The building’s interior was dark and littered with bodies.
Which was good.
If anyone’s eyes were open, he’d see the glint. If anyone was breathing, he’d hear the sound.
Relying solely on his senses, Kanghyeok ascended to the top floor, the fifth.
He didn’t encounter a single gang member along the way.
Keeping his index finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment, Kanghyeok reached for the doorknob.
This was the most tense moment in CQC (Close Quarters Combat).
You never knew what might happen.
Kanghyeok focused all his senses, staring at the door for a long moment before twisting the knob.
When he opened the door, only a cool draft greeted him.
That settled it.
There were no survivors here.
*Then…*
Who killed Martis?
Is there another faction I don't know about?
To find the answer, Kanghyeok began to search the fifth floor.
He secured photos and personal belongings that seemed to be Martis's, but found no crucial clues.
(Did you find anything?)
“Not yet.”
Just then.
Ring, ring!
The sound of a ringing phone erupted from a drawer, its thunderous presence yanking Kanghyeok’s attention.
Kanghyeok threw the drawer open.
Among the cell phones filling the drawer, one was lit up, waiting for his touch.
(Are you going to answer it?)
Instead of replying, Kanghyeok reached for the phone.
It was the only lead he had.
Beep.
After pressing the call button, Kanghyeok switched to speaker mode so Leila could hear.
A moment later, a coarse, deep voice that grated on the ears, like someone scraping their throat, flowed from the phone.
(Impressive. You really killed them all.)
The voice seemed to be filled with a kind of elation.
Confused, Kanghyeok narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“Who is this?”
As he spoke, Kanghyeok walked to the window and looked down at Leila’s car.
He trusted Leila.
He knew that inside the heavily tinted car, she would already be tracing the origin of this call.
(But why did you cut the power? I went to all the trouble of hacking the cameras, but I didn't get to see the end of the fight.)
His face hardening, Kanghyeok directed his question at the phone.
“I asked first. Who are you?”
(Nobody.)
“State your name.”
(That would spoil the fun. You haven't revealed your identity either. Who are you, anyway? FBI? DEA? You don't look like SWAT or HRT.)
Kanghyeok took a breath.
There’s an impression you get from a voice.
It wasn't as abstract as a gut feeling.
From the resonance of a voice, you could gauge a person’s build. From their accent and word choice, you could infer their origin and background.
The image Kanghyeok pieced together of this "Nobody" was of a man around 190 centimeters tall.
Likely of French origin, and with more in his head than the average gangster.
But something felt off.
This man was strange.
Gangsters usually prioritized filling their bellies above all else, but he didn't get that feeling from this man.
Then what was he?
In a situation like this, it was best to ask questions that could draw out more information.
“Then what do I look like?”
(Hope.)
It was such an unexpected and bizarre answer that Kanghyeok had just snorted in derision when the voice continued.
(There is something I have waited a long time for. I hope you are the one who can bring it to me.)
“What do you want?”
(A satisfying death.)
Kanghyeok’s eyes narrowed.
He appeared to be suffering from some kind of mental illness. This Nobody.
Men like him were the most dangerous.
Because they were unpredictable.
“I’ll ask you three things.”
(If I can ask one question in return.)
“Be my guest.”
(Go on.)
“Did you kill Martis?”
(Ah, well, yes.)
His tone was casual as if it were nothing.
Kanghyeok gnawed on his lip before asking his second question.
“Are you a gangster?”
(Is that an important question?)
A hint of disappointment in his voice.
“Your life depends on it.”
At Kanghyeok’s reply, Nobody’s tone shifted dramatically.
(Formally, I am. Is that the answer you wanted?)
To his excited reply, Kanghyeok said yes.
Kanghyeok’s mission was to eliminate the gangs in this city.
This meant he was bound to get involved with Nobody.
(And your last question?)
“Did you kill the supermarket owner?”
It was a personal question.
And it was a question his instincts screamed at him to ask.
Kanghyeok had a feeling this man was obsessed with him.
The message left at the scene of the owner’s death.
The words, *I hope you were the one who killed Johannes.*
Perhaps this Nobody was the very person Kanghyeok had to find and tear to pieces.
(Hehehehe.)
A deep, grating laugh flowed out.
(That woman, she was looking for you even as her throat was being cut.)
The voice was laced with amusement.
After a silence that was neither short nor long, Kanghyeok answered.
“I see.”
He had already sorted through his emotions.
All that remained was the resolve to avenge her.
Nobody’s answer had given that resolve a direction and a new strength.
“You want death?”
Kanghyeok gritted his teeth, then continued speaking.
His voice was laden with an emotion as deep as the bottom of the sea.
“Fine. I’ll kill you.”
Nobody responded with a joyful tone.
(You’d better hurry. I have many things prepared for you. But now, it’s my turn to ask a question.)
As if a different person had taken over the phone, Nobody’s tone changed completely.
(Are you someone who can kill me?)
At that moment, he felt a chilling killing intent.
An intense, yet refined killing intent that only a trained individual could project.
Kanghyeok’s gaze shifted from the phone to the window, and on the rooftop of a distant building, he saw something glint in the moonlight.
(I’ve located the origin of the call. It’s nearby.)
Leila’s voice, coming in at just the right time, confirmed it.
Kanghyeok twisted his body in a hurry.
Craaack!
A bullet pierced the exact spot where Kanghyeok had been standing and embedded itself in the wall.
(Kanghyeok! Are you alright!)
Without answering, Kanghyeok glared at the location the bullet had come from.
*A sniper rifle.*
The straight-line distance between there and here was about 260 meters.
Not far, but a sniper rifle was not a weapon an untrained person could handle easily.
*He said he hacked the CCTVs.*
An image formed in Kanghyeok’s mind: Nobody, having confirmed Kanghyeok’s arrival, heading to that spot with a bag containing a sniper rifle.
(Amazing. How could this be?)
Kanghyeok shot a sharp glare toward Nobody, who was surely watching him through a sniper scope right now.
“Is that your answer?”
(Completely. It couldn't be more perfect.)
At his euphoric reply, Kanghyeok moved to end the call.
(Wait.)
Kanghyeok’s thumb stopped just above the screen, and Nobody’s voice continued.
(Is it anger that moves you? Or is it hope?)
His tone was desperate as if he absolutely had to know this one thing.
Kanghyeok looked at the phone, then ended the call.
He was out of questions.
Thud.
Tossing the phone aside, Kanghyeok started down the stairs.
(Are you alright? Are you injured?)
“I’m fine.”
Exiting the building, Kanghyeok immediately got into the car.
“We’ll head to the building where the call originated.”
“No.”
Leila, who was about to start the car, turned her head to look at Kanghyeok in the passenger seat.
“He’s already gone.”
It hadn’t taken long for Kanghyeok to come down the stairs and get in the car.
But it wasn’t a short time for an escape, and for a trained opponent, it was more than enough time to hide so well he’d be difficult to find.
“He doesn’t seem like a gangster.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that he needs to be eliminated.”
Kanghyeok took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
Click, fwoosh.
Bluish smoke billowed out.
With the cigarette in his mouth, Kanghyeok leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and organized his thoughts.
Wasn't this a desperate situation?
A lunatic he wanted nothing to do with was after his life?
Not really.
If anything, he was grateful that the man had answered a question he himself had been wondering about.
*Ma'am.*
*I think I’ll be able to avenge you.*
*Sooner than I thought.*
“Hoo!”
Kanghyeok exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke to Leila.
“Find out about him.”
“Understood.”
Was it because Kanghyeok had been in danger?
Or because it was his command?
Leila’s reply was more forceful than usual.
Kanghyeok tossed the cigarette and opened his door as he spoke.
“Let’s move. There’s somewhere we need to go.”
As Leila got out of the car, a question bloomed in her eyes.
Somewhere to go?
Where on earth?
Kanghyeok sat in the driver's seat and spoke to Leila as she got into the passenger seat.
“If I were him, there’s something I would do.”
He knew from their conversation.
What kind of man he was.
How he would act.
What he would do to grab Kanghyeok’s attention and fuel his anger.
Vroom!
Kanghyeok started the engine and drove toward the slowly brightening east.