Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Stop Me With Everything You've Got (1)
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As Kanghyeok watched the smoke bleed into the night sky through the window, Nobody's voice came through.
"(Like what you see? I'll detonate a bomb every hour. By dawn, half the city will be gone.)"
And in about twenty hours, the entire city would likely be reduced to ashes.
Kanghyeok didn't take his eyes off the smoke.
Nobody's words and actions were clearly not normal.
But he sensed something hidden within them.
Something akin to a child throwing a tantrum for attention.
*Crash, rumble.*
Listening to the sound of the collapsing building, Kanghyeok spoke softly.
"I was the target."
"(...)"
As if caught off guard, Nobody remained silent for a long moment.
*'I knew it.'*
Killing the landlady.
Contacting Leila.
Attacking the hospital.
Even detonating a bomb during their call.
It all felt like it was done to get Kanghyeok's attention.
Mass slaughter wasn't that important to Nobody.
At best, it was just a means to an end, a part of the process.
What Nobody truly wanted was Kanghyeok.
To be precise, it felt like he had been waiting for someone like Kanghyeok.
Just then.
"(Kanghyeok.)"
Leila's voice came through the comms device.
"(I've evacuated Yohan to a safe location and am on my way back. I've also requested an analysis of the detonation frequency from headquarters.)"
The analysis results would arrive shortly.
Everything from the frequency to the location.
Kanghyeok spoke into his phone.
"Nobody."
"(Speak.)"
Unlike before, Nobody's voice was subdued.
"I'm coming for you. Until then, stop me with everything you've got."
He'd been told not to provoke him, but this time, he was sure he'd take the bait.
Because this was what Nobody wanted.
*(Hiss.)*
The sound of air flowing through an open throat followed, and then Nobody spoke.
"(I won't wait long.)"
"Don't worry."
Just then, a message came from Leila.
"(The analysis results are in. The frequency is the same. The location has also been identified.)"
Kanghyeok said his final words to Nobody and Leila.
"I'll be there soon."
*Beep!*
Ending the call, Kanghyeok walked out of the hospital room.
He headed for the hospital's main entrance to meet Leila.
***
Nobody stared silently at the phone he'd pulled away from his ear.
A powerful emotion emanated from his eyes, which shone brighter than usual.
He stroked his lips, savoring the feeling, and caressed the phone with a trembling hand.
*'He'll be here soon?'*
Those were the words he most wanted to hear.
Not even the return of a past-life lover, for whom he'd risked his life, after ten thousand reincarnations could make his heart swell like this.
Nobody gasped for breath, cupping the phone in both hands as if in prayer.
The corners of his mouth were curled up in a crazed, unending smile.
Just then, a clueless subordinate standing beside him spoke up.
"What are your orders?"
Nobody's face twisted in an instant.
The subordinate flinched as their eyes met. Nobody immediately pulled a pistol from his coat and pressed the muzzle to the man's forehead.
"How old are you?"
"M-my age, sir?"
Nobody bared his teeth and nodded. The subordinate forced his trembling lips open.
"Thirty-two."
"Old enough to know when to speak up and when not to."
"B-but, you have things to do..."
*Bang!*
Nobody shot the subordinate in the head, then glared at the corpse as if he wanted to chew it up.
"I know."
Nobody fired several more shots into the body.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Blood splattered with each bullet that hit the corpse. The surrounding gang members tensed up, breathing carefully.
*Click.*
When the magazine was empty, Nobody exhaled as if spitting out his rage.
He then turned his gaze to the night sky, where dark clouds were gathering, and put a cigarette to his lips.
*Click, inhale.*
"Huuu."
Nobody licked his lips and continued to smoke.
Nobody knew what his now-dead subordinate had been trying to say.
The interloper, Kanghyeok, had announced his impending arrival.
At this point, the most efficient course of action for Nobody was to detonate all the bombs.
Some weren't properly installed, and some of his men hadn't evacuated, but none of that really mattered.
*Sizzle.*
The air he drew in with his cigarette smelled of smoke.
The scent from the building he'd blown up out of annoyance at Kanghyeok's taunt had drifted all the way here on the wind.
The building he'd destroyed was a shabby, insignificant ruin.
But its end was spectacular.
It had adorned its final moments with a light more brilliant than the stars and moon.
*'I can't blow up the city now.'*
Nobody had waited for Kanghyeok to come find him.
Ever since he'd abandoned his name and become Nobody, he had been waiting!
Nobody's eyes flashed with explosive intensity as he took a drag from his cigarette.
*'He will definitely find me.'*
When Kanghyeok called him at the hospital, even Nobody couldn't help but be surprised.
How on earth? By what means?
He was curious.
But his joy was greater.
Kanghyeok had proven that he was someone capable of finding him.
Nobody stomped out the finished cigarette and looked up at the moon.
"How many of the new guys are left?"
One of his subordinates answered hesitantly.
"Twenty."
"Put them in cars and send them out. Tell them whoever brings me his head gets an executive position."
"Understood."
The subordinate who took the radio and left looked relieved to be getting away.
The other subordinates envied him but also looked at Nobody with incomprehension, while Nobody himself was thinking of Kanghyeok.
He didn't think for a second that Kanghyeok would be taken down by mere local gang members.
So why send his men?
Kanghyeok was an honored guest.
Important enough to need a welcoming party.
And if possible, he wanted Kanghyeok to kill more gang members and complete his transformation into a certain kind of being.
The perfect being he desired.
*Slam!*
Kanghyeok got into the driver's seat Leila had offered him, buckled his seatbelt, and lit a cigarette.
In the passenger seat, Leila had a bag containing a sniper rifle on her lap, using it as a desk for her laptop.
"Left here."
Looking at the laptop screen, Leila gave him the location where the detonation frequency had been detected.
Kanghyeok lit his cigarette and immediately steered the sports car in that direction.
"How's Yohan?"
Leila, who was about to relay other information, was slightly surprised and then gave a faint smile.
"He's safe."
"Did he cry much?"
"He seems stronger than I thought. He calmed down quickly."
Leila looked back at her laptop, but her attention and thoughts were focused on Kanghyeok.
*'I knew he cared, but...'*
I didn't expect him to ask something like this.
Leila knew the Kanghyeok from a year ago and remembered him well.
A man who could be described as cold-blooded.
Some people valued his ruthlessness, but few among his fellow agents actually liked him.
Who would like someone with so little camaraderie?
"Yohan is grateful to you. I told him to tell you himself."
"It's nothing to be thanked for."
Leila looked at Kanghyeok's face and smiled warmly.
"You've changed a lot."
"A lot of time has passed."
"It's only been a year."
"It was a long year."
Kanghyeok smoked in silence as he drove the sports car, taking the right lane at the intersection as Leila directed.
The scenery blurred past.
The heavy, damp air rushed in, and the smell of smoke quickly faded.
*Yeah, that makes sense.*
With the cigarette between his fingers, Kanghyeok rubbed his forehead.
It had felt strangely itchy, and he realized the gang members' blood had dried black on his skin.
Anyway, the first detonation frequency was detected at the hospital.
Nobody wasn't as simple-minded as a street gangster, so he would have sent the signal from a location far from the explosion this time.
The man wouldn't know how Kanghyeok had found him at the hospital.
But he must have felt uneasy, so he would have used his head.
Not knowing it was useless.
"Is the frequency analysis done?"
"Yes."
Guessing what Kanghyeok was about to say, Leila nodded gravely.
"Get approval from headquarters. So we can jam the frequency at any time."
Both explosions used the same frequency.
Therefore, it was highly likely that all the bombs planted throughout the city used the same detonation frequency.
Of course, one always had to assume the worst-case scenario.
But there was no denying that transmitting a counter-frequency would greatly increase the chances of nullifying Nobody's plan to blow up the entire city.
"I've already gotten approval. They're preparing it now. It won't take long, of course."
Kanghyeok gave Leila a brief, surprised look, and she pointed out the next turn.
"You can focus on eliminating him without any worries."
Kanghyeok nodded silently.
*Vroooom!*
The sports car's speed steadily increased.
There was less than an hour left.
Within that time, Kanghyeok had to reach Nobody's location.
The possibility of Nobody detonating a bomb before then?
*'He can't do it.'*
Kanghyeok had provoked Nobody, and the provocation had worked perfectly.
As desperate as Nobody was for Kanghyeok, he couldn't send the detonation signal.
Even now, time was steadily ticking by.
If things had gone according to Nobody's plan, he would have felt suffocated, but since Kanghyeok was now the one controlling the situation, he felt no impatience.
The emotion Kanghyeok felt was anticipation.
Soon, very soon.
The time to avenge his landlady was almost within his grasp.
"Huuu!"
Just as Kanghyeok exhaled through clenched teeth.
"Hm?"
Leila, looking at her laptop screen, frowned.
"We've got flies."
Kanghyeok glanced at the laptop screen.
"Hmph."
He let out a breath that shook his body. The satellite data, showing real-time movements of people and vehicles, was marking several cars approaching their position.
They were moving in slow cars, trying to surround Kanghyeok somehow.
"Five cars in total. One of them is giving orders."
The car giving orders was the one in the very center.
Having detected the radio signal from that car, Leila turned to Kanghyeok.
"Should I tap in?"
"No need."
Kanghyeok answered curtly; it wasn't worth listening to.
"As expected, they seem to be armed. What's the plan?"
It was a perfunctory question.
Her tone said as much.
*Vrooooooom!*
Instead of answering, Kanghyeok stomped on the accelerator. Leila closed her laptop with an expression that said she'd known this would happen.
She then opened her bag and began to assemble the sniper rifle.
*Click-clack.*
Steering with one hand, Kanghyeok drew a pistol from his coat.
Just then, two of their vehicles came into view.
The cars charging from the front crossed the center line and split to either side.
A rough attack route formed in his mind.
*Vroooooooar!*
Kanghyeok's sports car shot forward as if to pierce through them. Leila unbuckled her seatbelt and simultaneously lowered the passenger-side window.
"Watch the recoil."
"I know."
Leila wrapped the seatbelt around her forearm and leaned her upper body and the sniper rifle out the open window.
She braced her foot against the dashboard and pressed her body firmly against the seatback.
Taking the full force of the rushing wind, Leila brought her eye to the scope.
*CRACK!*
The sniper rifle's recoil sent a powerful jolt through Leila's body.
The car approaching on the passenger side swerved violently.
It was inevitable, as the driver and the man in the back seat had both been shot through the head.