Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: An Offer They Can't Refuse
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Pat.
Perhaps misinterpreting Kanghyeok's sigh, Amos placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a slight shake of his head.
“There’s nothing to worry about. You and I did a fine job stopping them, and we’ll finish this off just as well.”
Kanghyeok looked at Amos, then his gaze dropped to the pocket containing his cigarettes.
“It’s not that.”
Seeing the worry etched on Kanghyeok’s face, Amos gave a bitter half-smile.
They hadn't ended everything with this incident, but it was undeniably a significant achievement.
They hadn't cut the problem off at the root, but they had managed to stop the next step.
*Click, fizz.*
Kanghyeok lit a cigarette he’d pulled from his pocket, exhaled smoke, and turned toward the warehouse exit.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Kanghyeok knew what he needed right then.
The overwhelming stench of blood and gunpowder inside the warehouse was nauseating, so Kanghyeok waited outside. By the time he was on his second cigarette, Gabriel and Amos emerged.
Carrying a laptop and a few other documents, they walked with Kanghyeok back to the car.
“Find anything?”
Amos shook his head.
“We’ll have to look into it.”
“Let me know what you find.”
Gabriel said nothing, but her expression was one of gratitude.
For reasons she didn't understand, Kanghyeok was willing to help them.
It felt like having an entire army on their side.
“We should be the ones asking you. It’s not easy to find someone like you.”
Amos said calmly, his gaze shifting to Kanghyeok.
“But there’s one problem. The cruise ship will be coming into the port, and they’re scheduled to pick up the goods from here.”
With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Kanghyeok nodded.
If the goods weren't ready, they wouldn't even approach the port; they'd just leave.
So, to catch them, they had to set a trap—people and goods positioned at the port like bait.
“The goods they’re coming for are the ones here, so that’s not an issue. The problem is the people.”
There were only three of them working together.
Far too few.
Too few to move the supplies, and too few to lure them in.
“And it’s hard to find people on short notice. Do you know anyone who could help?”
It was not an easy problem.
The people on the cruise ship and the ones picking up the goods wouldn't be ordinary.
They were connected to Iron Mask and involved in the experiments, so they would likely be armed, just like the men in the warehouse.
If their cover was blown, it would cost them their lives.
Who would willingly jump into a life-or-death situation?
“How much time do we have?”
Gabriel answered Kanghyeok's question.
“Twenty hours. Too short to find new people.”
Kanghyeok thought for a moment, then tossed his cigarette to the ground and crushed it with his foot.
Then he spoke.
“I’ll handle this problem.”
“Are you going to ask your company for help?”
“No, not them.”
Kanghyeok glanced at Gabriel.
His gaze seemed to say, *You know them too.* Amos arched an eyebrow in confusion, while Gabriel pondered for a moment before letting out a short gasp of realization.
“Who are you talking about?”
Gabriel didn’t answer Amos’s question.
Kanghyeok remained silent as well.
There were people who could help.
Plenty of them, and they were skilled in arms dealing.
But the reason he didn't reveal their identity outright was because they were connected to Gabriel’s past shame.
“First, let’s go to the place I have in mind.”
The two followed Kanghyeok as he led the way, leaving the warehouse area completely behind.
The time was approaching midnight, under a sky draped in thick darkness.
And at that moment, in one of the cars parked near the warehouse, someone was still breathing.
A large man, clutching the steering wheel, his head bowed low, terrified of being discovered.
*Hhhh, hhhp.*
His eyes were wide as he took ragged breaths through his nose. He was the son of Iron Mask.
The inadequate son of a perfect father.
So weak-willed that he had readily accepted his subordinate's suggestion to stay in the car despite the important task at hand, he was the sole survivor at this warehouse.
*Shudder, shudder, shudder.*
He trembled so violently it seemed the steering wheel might come loose. Even long after Kanghyeok had left the warehouse, he couldn't bring himself to lift his head.
***
“I feel good.”
The middle-aged man said abruptly, looking out the window.
His subordinates in the room turned to him. He put a cigarette to his lips and continued.
“That Asian bastard must be dead by now. At the hands of those fucking vigilantes.”
Realizing who their boss was talking about, the corners of the subordinates’ mouths crept up toward their ears.
These were the men who had sold Kanghyeok the magazines and the knife.
They were also the ones who had tried to kill Kanghyeok, lost their own men in the process, and then told the vigilantes that Kanghyeok had committed a crime worthy of death.
They hadn't lied.
They had merely hidden their own crimes and exaggerated what Kanghyeok had done.
It felt like getting one eyesore to take care of another, so they felt no guilt.
*Click. Whoosh!*
He exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke in a genuinely satisfied tone.
“If that vigilante had any sense, he’d bring back a picture of the body. But I doubt he’s that sharp.”
“Ha, haha.”
With a smile clearly meant to suck up, one of his men chimed in.
“That’s right. I’d love to see his face.”
“It must’ve been quite a sight.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“Of course. Riddled with submachine gun fire until he was unrecognizable.”
“Hahahaha.”
“Khehehehe!”
It was then.
A commotion from outside the door froze the air in the room. The boss, cigarette still in his mouth, gripped the armrests of his chair.
Just as he tilted his frowning face toward the door, it opened, and three people walked in.
“…Fuck.”
The boss muttered instinctively. Everyone in the room froze as if they’d seen the grim reaper.
Kanghyeok, who they thought was dead.
And the two vigilantes they had asked to deal with him.
The three of them had stormed into the room as if they were a single crew.
*‘Why the hell are they working together?’*
That first thought was instantly erased by the one that followed.
*‘Why are they here?’*
Having wronged them, the boss felt a chill spread through his body as if he’d been plunged into ice water. Kanghyeok looked at him and jerked his chin toward the door.
“Come out.”
All eyes turned to the boss.
His men hoped he would do something, but there was only one thing the boss could do.
Give a heavy nod.
The thought that they would kill him if he didn't filled his mind.
*Tremble, tremble, tremble.*
Shaking pitiably, the boss stepped out of the room.
His subordinates followed, hoping for the best, and the narrow hallway became crowded and suffocating.
Yet, no one considered attacking.
Kanghyeok had already proven he could handle this many men on his own.
Now, with the vigilantes Gabriel and Amos beside him, they felt like a flock of chickens thrown into a tiger’s den.
“I have a job for you.”
The tension sharpened at Kanghyeok’s words.
“Name it.”
The boss said, trembling. Kanghyeok shifted his gaze to Gabriel and Amos.
Then, turning back to the boss, he lit a cigarette.
“There’s a deal tomorrow night. I need you guys to go and make the exchange.”
“W-What?”
The boss, who had expected to be told he was going to die, asked again in surprise. Kanghyeok took a drag from his cigarette and spoke.
“All you have to do is pick up the goods and hand them over. That’s it.”
“W-Wait a minute.”
The boss spoke impulsively, then touched his lips, his eyes filled with bewilderment as he looked at Kanghyeok.
He tried to speak again, but his throat was dry from tension, and no sound came out.
*Gulp.*
Swallowing hard, he spoke with the caution of someone defusing a bomb.
“What kind of deal?”
Just then.
“Who are you to ask questions?”
Gabriel, her eyes flashing with anger, started toward him but was held back by Amos.
The boss retreated ungracefully and glanced at Kanghyeok.
*‘What’s with this atmosphere?’*
It was a situation where he wouldn’t have been surprised if Kanghyeok had pulled out a pistol and shot him in the head.
And yet, what he had offered was not a bullet, but a proposal.
He knew he should accept it gratefully, but a creeping premonition told him it was dangerous.
“We need to know so we can prepare. You can at least tell us what it’s about.”
He asked, having squeezed his brain for the right words.
*Whoosh!*
Exhaling smoke with a look that said he’d expected the question, Kanghyeok spoke calmly.
“It’s related to Iron Mask.”
“What…?”
“You said you wanted to get connected with them. If this goes well, you might just get that connection.”
“Really?”
With the cigarette between his lips, Kanghyeok nodded.
It wasn't a lie.
It was, after all, related to Iron Mask.
For arms dealers like them, it was an offer hard to refuse. And just as expected, the fear vanished from the boss’s face as he rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
“There’s nothing to lose. You just pick up the goods and hand them over.”
“So we’re acting as proxies.”
“If you’re not interested, I’ll find someone else.”
Kanghyeok put out his cigarette and turned to leave.
He had seen the suspicion in the boss’s eyes.
“H-Hey, wait! Wait!”
The boss hurriedly called out to Kanghyeok, his lips trembling.
It didn't feel like a clean job.
He had a feeling it could be dangerous if he took it.
But the thought that he might never get another chance to connect with Iron Mask made it impossible to refuse.
“We’ll take the job. Just tell us the specifics.”
Kanghyeok had Gabriel give him the location of the warehouse and the address of the port where the cruise ship would arrive.
After jotting down the address, the boss looked at Kanghyeok, his jaw clenched.
“Hey.”
Kanghyeok, who was heading out of the building, paused.
“I’m sorry. What I did was wrong. I sincerely apologize.”
Then he started walking again.
He didn’t say anything more because he had already gotten everything he needed from the man.
An apology and an acceptance.
That was enough.
“You handled that much more skillfully than I expected.”
Amos said with admiration as soon as they were outside the building.
Kanghyeok tilted his head to the side and forced a breath through his teeth.
It felt as if the stale air and cigarette smoke were being purged from his lungs, clearing his mind a little.
“It wasn’t something that could be settled with force.”
They had to be genuinely grateful to Kanghyeok.
Only then would they follow his instructions and act as if it were their own problem if something unexpected happened.
“You didn’t… lie.”
Amos muttered to himself, then gave Kanghyeok a grateful look.
“In any case, thank you.”
The biggest problem had been gathering people to lure in the cruise ship.
How could he not be grateful that Kanghyeok had solved it?
“There’s still one problem left.”
Which was why Amos was extremely cautious as he said this.