Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: An Unreasonable War (2)
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Lento, whose eyes met Kanghyeok's through the monitor, felt a shock as if he'd been shot.
It was a sealed room filled with monitors, the safest place on the cruise ship.
A control room near where the supplies were stored.
Here, Lento wiped his face.
His palms were slick with sweat, and he could feel a chill run down his spine.
It wasn't just because he'd received Kanghyeok's death threat through the monitor.
'This man...'
He's the man I saw in the warehouse.
Even though his weapon and clothes had changed, it was definitely him.
The skill, so insane it was beyond words, and the bloodlust and fighting spirit that could be felt even through the CCTV—not just anyone could possess that.
*Ksshk!*
(The resistance is fierce! Requesting backup!)
(They have grenades! It's dangerous to get too close!)
(*BOOM!*)
The urgency of the situation, conveyed through the radio, was clearer in his left ear than his right.
Because his right ear had been sliced off.
All because of this man and the two others running rampant on the ship.
Lento watched Kanghyeok with eyes wide enough to burst, then lowered his trembling gaze to the floor.
In his head, he knew he had to curse, hate, and eliminate that Asian man.
But damn it all, that was easier said than done.
This was the second time he'd seen him.
That man.
He knew all too well what kind of person he was, and a primal fear washed over him like a wave.
*Ksshk!*
(Send backup, quickly...! Aaaaargh!)
(My arm, my arm!)
The voices and groans from the radio screamed as if pleading for orders.
Lento squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.
Barely suppressing his fear, he brought the radio to his lips.
*Ksshk!*
"One of the intruders is moving to Sector C4 via the stairs. Sectors C and D, prepare to intercept. The rest of you, hold your positions and await further instructions."
*Ksshk!*
(This is A2! A2! Their resistance is too strong!)
Lento watched Amos and Gabriel wreaking havoc on the top-left monitor.
"Hold. They have grenades. Maintain distance and draw it into a war of attrition."
Then, he did what he could.
Stop this man and the other two intruders.
It was the only thing he could do, and the one thing he had to do.
Kanghyeok reached Sector C4, shotgun in hand.
With every step, the rifle and pistol slung over his body swayed, and the hilt of the knife tucked inside his clothes poked him in the chest.
Pausing for a moment, Kanghyeok surveyed the corridor, the shotgun still shouldered but with the muzzle lowered.
*Was this space originally meant for guest rooms?*
The long corridor was lined with doors on both sides, and the LED lights on the ceiling illuminated it as brightly as day.
To put it nicely, it looked like a hotel hallway.
To put it badly, it felt like a prison.
A consequence of the unique setting—a cruise ship floating on the sea.
And also because of the CCTV camera hidden discreetly in the corner, watching him.
*Ksshk!*
"This is Kanghyeok. There are CCTVs all over the ship."
*Ksshk!*
There was only the sound of a radio keying up, likely during a firefight, but no voice came through.
So Kanghyeok was the only one who spoke.
*Ksshk!*
"Someone's watching us. Be careful."
*Ksshk, ksshk!*
Two bursts of static came through, as if in acknowledgment.
Kanghyeok looked away from the CCTV camera.
It was deliberately pointed this way.
Someone was clearly observing the ship's interior using the cameras, and the ones in this area, in particular, were watching Kanghyeok as if scrutinizing him.
Kanghyeok rubbed his face and closed his right eye.
His vision was cut in half, but he did it just in case.
*They have radios, and the cameras are watching me.*
*What if the person watching the cameras is giving orders?*
*And what would be the most effective order they could give in this situation?*
Kanghyeok stared down the corridor with only his left eye, focusing his senses on his hearing.
It wasn't that he could actually hear anything.
It was just a feeling, born of his heightened senses.
The men behind the doors.
The men hiding around the corner at the end of the hall.
Men clinging to their radios and rifles like lifelines, waiting for an opportunity and a command.
They were all hiding, waiting to kill him.
*Fzzt.*
The moment a faint sound brushed past his ear,
*Flick, flick, flick!*
The lights at the far end of the corridor went out one by one, and a deep darkness rushed toward him.
Kanghyeok opened his right eye and raised the shotgun.
The right pupil, adjusted to the dark, and the left, which was not.
There was a clear difference between the two eyes.
Kanghyeok's right eye could pierce the darkness and see their outlines.
A nearby door opened without a sound, and Kanghyeok swung the shotgun toward it.
*BOOM!*
A burst of light erupted.
Sparks flew as the pellets struck the steel door.
And in that fleeting flash of light, the man whose head had been blown off was revealed, along with the horrified face of the man next to him.
*BOOM!*
Kanghyeok blasted that man too, then entered the room.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
Plunging the hall into darkness was a smart move.
But the order had been too sudden.
So the men hadn't adjusted to the dark, while Kanghyeok already had.
After clearing out the men in the room, Kanghyeok picked up his rifle and fired a burst of rounds at the men in the room across the hall.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
The men fired back.
But their shots only hit the area around Kanghyeok or went completely wide. Kanghyeok emptied his magazine, pulled out a new one, and pressed himself against the doorframe.
*Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak!*
Men began to fill the corridor.
*Click.*
Keeping his focus on the men, Kanghyeok reloaded his rifle, then pressed the button on his shotgun and broke the barrel.
There was no time to spare.
The human eye adjusts to darkness faster than one might think, and fifteen seconds had already passed.
He had another ten to fifteen seconds.
He had to eliminate as many of them as possible in that time.
Kanghyeok poked just the shotgun's barrel into the hallway and pulled the trigger.
*BOOM!*
"Aaaaargh!"
*BOOM!*
"Guaaargh!"
"Get back! Get baaack!"
*BOOM! BOOM!*
"He's got a shotgun—"
*BOOM!*
Kanghyeok aimed toward the sounds and pulled the trigger.
Come to think of it, he'd never used equipment like this.
'Why was that?'
Thinking back, he'd never had the chance.
In the past—which was also a future that had yet to come.
In the timeline Kanghyeok had originally lived, he was never given the opportunity to handle such equipment.
Not even after being promoted to Team Leader, then Section Chief, all the way up to Director.
He had insisted on using only familiar weapons, but strangely enough, no one had ever offered him anything new.
Was it because he didn't interact with other agents?
Was it because he'd lived a life where he kept everyone at a distance?
Perhaps the company saw Kanghyeok, who lived only to complete missions, as a disposable card whose usefulness would one day run out.
Perhaps they hadn't bothered investing new equipment in someone who would die a death no one would mourn.
So Kanghyeok only ever used the guns he was familiar with.
Half by his own choice.
Half by the choice of others.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat! T-t-ting!*
The bullets fired by the men hammered against the door.
Kanghyeok held the shotgun close as he pulled out a new magazine, and the moment he finished reloading, he shot the foot of a man approaching the door.
"Guaaaargh!"
*BOOM!*
After blowing the man's head off, Kanghyeok unloaded round after round into the men swarming the doorway.
*BANG! BANG! BOOM! BOOM!*
The report of the shotgun echoed in the narrow corridor, a merciless assault on his eardrums.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
When their muzzles spewed bullets, he would duck back into the room to reload, and as soon as the gunfire subsided, he would lean out and unleash a spray of rifle rounds.
*Rat-tat-tat! Pfft! Thud!*
Hit just above the heart, Kanghyeok crumpled to the ground and threw himself back into the room.
"Hah, haaah!"
Kanghyeok touched his chest with a trembling hand.
His dress shirt was damp, and for a moment he thought it was blood, but thankfully, it was just sweat.
"He's hit! I hit him!"
Kanghyeok dropped his rifle and drew his pistol and knife.
Then, he boldly stabbed the knee of the man charging into the room,
"Gah...!"
*CRACK!*
and silenced his scream by shooting him under the chin.
*SLAM!*
At the same time, he slammed the door shut and threw his whole body against it.
The men crowded outside pushed back relentlessly, and a rifle barrel poked through the slight gap, spraying bullets wildly at the ceiling and floor.
It was as if to say, *Open this door, and we won't give you a clean death.*
*THWACK!*
Kanghyeok severed a hand that fumbled through the gap, then turned and pushed against the door with his back.
*Screeeech!*
Even pushing with all his might, the soles of his shoes slipped, and the door slowly began to open.
The thought suddenly crossed his mind: *If I get shot in the head, will I die?*
'Bullshit!'
*It's not my time yet, is it?*
*I still have things to do.*
*I'll die someday, but not today.*
Kanghyeok put the knife's hilt between his teeth and gripped the shotgun tightly.
Then, he took a step back from the door and turned.
*CREAK!*
With Kanghyeok suddenly gone, the door flew wide open, and the men who had been pushing against it spilled into the room.
"Oof!"
The man in front fell, and the others trampled over him, stumbling awkwardly into the room.
*BOOM!*
Kanghyeok didn't wait for them to get up.
*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*
The successive shotgun blasts tore the door, the walls, the men, and their guns to shreds.
The men didn't even have a chance to raise their weapons.
If a man in the back, startled, tried to raise his gun,
*BANG!*
a shotgun blast would instantly blow his wrist off.
*BANG!*
Followed by his head. When the gun was empty, only Kanghyeok was left standing.
Kanghyeok collapsed to his knees.
"Hh, haah, haaah."
The pain he'd suppressed reared its head, and there were still more men outside the door.
They just didn't dare show themselves.
Kanghyeok glared at the door and the corridor as he took out a magazine and reloaded as quietly as possible.
It was at that moment.
"Hey!"
A trembling but firm voice called out from the corridor.
"I think we've seen enough blood, don't you?"
Kanghyeok remained silent.
'Did he get an order?'
Their behavior had changed in the blink of an eye.
Words instead of guns.
As if trying to appease him.
"If this is something we can solve with words, let's talk. How about we both show ourselves?"
As expected, the men moved, and Kanghyeok waited for his body to recover.
The wound near his heart was definitely healing more slowly.
Kanghyeok placed a hand on his chest, waiting for the pain to subside. The silence was broken when one of the men tossed his gun, and it clattered to the floor in front of the door.
"See? I dropped my gun. If you don't believe me, I'll have the others drop theirs too."
Kanghyeok pushed himself up and approached the corridor.
*Flick!*
As if on cue, the lights turned back on, and Kanghyeok's sleeve and the tip of his gun, peeking out from the doorway, came into their view.
"Let's talk, just talk. Please. Okay?"
Kanghyeok took a moment to gather his thoughts, then stepped into the corridor, shotgun in hand.
As expected, the men didn't fire.
Some had lowered their muzzles; others showed their empty hands.
The hairy-faced man who had clearly been the one to speak had both his palms up near his ears.
"Hoo."
When Kanghyeok didn't shoot, the man let out a heavy breath.
At that, a man next to him whispered quietly.
"Shouldn't we tell him to drop his weapon..."
Without even glancing at him, the man whispered back, moving his lips as little as possible.
"Shut up. You saw what he can do."
His eyes fixed on Kanghyeok, the man continued as if groaning.
"There's nothing to be gained by provoking him."
*Gulp.*
Swallowing dryly, the man looked at Kanghyeok and began to speak slowly.
"I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse."
Then, as if handling a wild beast, he gestured toward Kanghyeok with the utmost care and composure.