Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: I Hate Seeing People Die (1)
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Dive checked the time on his phone, a leisurely expression on his face as he put a cigarette to his lips.
The hour was creeping toward dawn.
It was taking a little longer than expected.
For those bastards Rashid sent to arrive.
*Click! Fwoosh!*
Standing just outside his hideout, Dive exhaled a long plume of smoke toward the road. With no wind, the smoke lingered before him like a ghost before slowly fading.
“No need to rush.”
Dive muttered, bringing the cigarette back to his lips.
Everything was going smoothly.
He had broken Jeff’s arms and legs one by one, completely eliminating any chance of escape.
Rashid was a reliable guy; he wouldn’t be foolish enough to leave open the possibility of them escaping the car.
Feeling as if every circumstance was pointing to his imminent success, Dive had finished all other preparations.
“How are the filming preparations?”
“We've set it up thoroughly, just as you ordered.”
The subordinate beside him answered in a gruff voice, the yellowed whites of his eyes glistening.
Dive gave a slight nod.
Once the men Rashid sent arrived, he would torture them horribly and then kill them.
He planned to record the entire process and send it to their company, Mili-Weapon, to extort more money.
All preparations were in order.
So, just hurry up and get here.
With a look that said he had all the time in the world, Dive fixed his gaze on the road and took a deep drag from his cigarette.
“Cough, cough.”
Jeff came to his senses, letting out a dry cough.
He groaned from the pain of his broken arms and legs as he turned over, and a moment later, he saw the items placed around him.
A camera on a tripod, a large can of oil, and massive knives that looked suitable for slaughtering a cow.
He also saw a power drill and a container of rusty screws. Considering what Dive had done to him, he could guess what they were for.
*Huu, huu.*
Though his face was contorted in pain, Jeff raised one corner of his mouth in a scornful smirk.
“Fools. They have no idea what’s coming.”
*Bang!*
As if someone had heard his voice, a sound like a rifle butt striking the steel door came from just outside.
“Shut your mouth! Before I cut off your limbs.”
Jeff stared at the door with empty eyes before resting the back of his head on the floor and exhaling.
Kanghyeok and Leila would be here soon.
He just had to endure until they arrived.
Then this pain would end, and he could show these foolish bastards just how terrifying the company's agents were.
“Hehehe.”
As if he could vividly picture their end, Jeff let out a hearty laugh.
*Bang! Bang!*
“I told you to be quiet!”
“Go shut him up, you idiot.”
“Fuck!”
*Clank! Clank!*
A loud noise erupted as the men tried to open the locked door.
Jeff's face hardened, but knowing they wouldn't kill him, he steeled himself by clenching his jaw and exhaling.
It was then.
*Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!*
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire echoed from a short distance, and the noise of someone trying to open the door ceased.
Jeff, who had been tense, smiled faintly.
‘They're finally here.’
*Thump, thump.*
The sound of footsteps grew closer, then stopped right in front of the door.
*Thud!*
A single gunshot, clearly fired at the floor, rang out, followed by a brief clatter of someone trying to open the door, and then,
*Creeak!*
The door opened, revealing the silhouette of a person with long hair against the light.
As Jeff squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden light, the voice of the person who opened the door reached him.
“Jeff Black?”
A familiar voice.
Realizing the moment he had waited for so long in this hellish place had finally arrived, Jeff spoke in a relieved tone.
“Leila.”
Leila pressed a hand to her ear, the one not holding a gun.
“I've confirmed Jeff Black's location.”
She then stepped inside and shut the thick steel door behind her.
Jeff, who had expected her to lead him out, looked at Leila with bewildered eyes.
“Wait, what’s going on? Why aren't we leaving?”
As soon as he asked, Jeff questioned why Leila was here alone.
“Where's Kanghyeok? Why are you by yourself?”
It was then.
A faint, yet lonely-looking smile spread across Leila's lips.
“Leila?”
“He went to secure an escape route.”
Her words didn't immediately make sense.
Dive was no match for a company agent, but he was a terrorist who operated high-tech equipment.
Could it be she didn't know this?
No, even if she did, this was Dive's headquarters.
Jeff had already seen over twenty of his men, and there could be more.
Although his promotion to Team Leader was recent, Kanghyeok's experience and skills as an agent were by no means lacking. He couldn't possibly be unaware of this fact.
“Did he come with someone else?”
“No. He's alone.”
Jeff's expression gradually hardened.
“What do you mean…”
Leila's eyes showed that she understood the confusion and bewilderment Jeff must be feeling.
She knew.
She knew just how reckless Kanghyeok's intentions and plan were.
She had asked a colleague from her recruitment class and obtained a transparent view of the building, including satellite imagery.
Thankfully, this allowed her to see the building's layout and the locations of the people inside, so Leila knew just how many of Dive's subordinates were present.
Thanks to that, Leila had managed to reach Jeff without a single confrontation.
Now, to get Jeff out safely, they needed to clear an exit path.
Leila couldn't stop Kanghyeok, who had volunteered for this role.
She couldn't bring herself to say anything in the face of his expression and his unusually lonely eyes.
But it was okay.
Leila trusted Kanghyeok.
“He can do it. He will succeed. He has to.”
Kanghyeok's strength, something even Leila hadn't yet figured out.
Right now, Leila trusted Kanghyeok—who possessed something more than just a bulletproof suit—more than anyone else in the world.
That's why, in this secret room shrouded in deep darkness, Leila could speak with a voice full of conviction, even if it sounded a little lonely.
“He will, without a doubt.”
Leila's voice didn't just reach Jeff.
It was also transmitted to Kanghyeok through the communication device that connected them, despite their physical distance.
In the darkness.
A corner of a hallway inside the building.
Kanghyeok stood breathing softly in a storage-like space where Dive's subordinates had haphazardly piled up old belongings.
“Gunshots! Over there!”
“Something's not right. Check on the guys guarding the old man!”
Hearing the sound of their footsteps and their urgent voices echoing down the hall, Kanghyeok pulled back the bolt of his rifle and released it.
*Click-clack.*
The first round from the magazine slid smoothly into the chamber.
The selector was set to full-auto, his index finger resting on the trigger.
*Th-th-thump!*
He caught a glimpse of the armament of a group that ran past, oblivious to his presence.
State-of-the-art rifles and shotguns were in their hands, as if to strongly suggest this would be a difficult fight.
This building was full of men like that.
Why am I doing this?
A sudden question arose in his mind.
If he wanted to rescue Jeff more easily, there was no need to leave Leila in the secret room.
He could have had her provide backup, or she could have simply supported Jeff and moved to the car once Kanghyeok cleared the way.
But Kanghyeok had chosen to face all of them alone to clear the escape route.
Why did I make such a reckless decision?
*Thump-thump-thump-thump!*
“There's a body here!”
“Open the door. Hurry!”
“They're armed.”
“Inform Lord Dive. Now!”
The men's voices came from near the room where Leila and Jeff were.
Hearing more of them converging and the sound of the door opening, he understood why he had brought this upon himself.
I hate seeing people die.
Something Aiden had once said.
Yes, Aiden.
I'm the same.
It's agonizing when someone you know dies.
That's why today, I will fight alone.
At least for today, I won't let anyone else I know die.
*Step.*
Kanghyeok stepped out of the darkness.
And raised his rifle toward the men positioned in front of the door where Jeff and Leila were.
“What—”
The man who sensed his presence looked up at Kanghyeok.
And his body froze, unable to react.
He had spotted the intruder.
And yet, he could only remain silent because of Kanghyeok's armament.
A rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
A kukri slung over his shoulder like a special forces operative.
And magazines stuffed into a military hip pack.
He looked like a man who had come here to wage a war all by himself.
*Rat-a-tat!*
The man collapsed, a bullet from Kanghyeok's rifle piercing his head, and the sound of gunfire echoed down the hall, spreading throughout the hideout.
*Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat! Rat-a-tat!*
Firing in three-round bursts on full-auto, Kanghyeok blew away the heads of the converging enemies.
*Rat-a-tat!*
The dim ceiling lights illuminated their weapons, their bodies, and the spurting blood.
“He's over there!”
A furious voice.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!*
And a hail of bullets from a new wave of enemies rushed toward Kanghyeok.
Kanghyeok pushed himself into the narrow space beside the steel door, reloaded his rifle, and waited for them to enter effective range.
*Tak-tak-tak-tak!*
The bullets, fired at an angle, flew past Kanghyeok and embedded themselves in the steel door.
Kanghyeok raised his pistol and fired suppressing shots at them, as Leila's voice came through his earpiece.
(Are you alright?)
Unlike her usual self, her voice carried a hint of emotion.
*Ping! Ping!*
Pressing his body flat against the steel door, Kanghyeok spoke to Leila through it.
“It's nothing.”
*Ping!*
A bullet from another enemy whizzed past Kanghyeok's head and slammed into the door.
*Ping!*
Kanghyeok immediately created a dark bullet hole between the man's eyebrows.
“This won't take long.”
*Ping! Ping! Ping!*
Firing at the men with one hand, Kanghyeok moved his other hand to the kukri on his shoulder.
“So stay inside.”
*Shing!*
The blade glinted coldly in the light.
The men were now advancing, stepping over corpses.
They looked like predators stalking their prey with menacing eyes.
When the men, trusting in the performance of their modern rifles, had drawn close enough, Kanghyeok bit down on the spine of his kukri.
He then broke open his shotgun and unleashed a relentless barrage of shells at them.
*Boom! Boom!*
And then,
*Fwoomp.*
he even activated the grenade launcher, sending a grenade flying their way.
“Hiiik!”
One of them, realizing the object that had landed among them was a grenade, let out a bizarre scream.
*BOOM! CRASH!*
The smoke from the exploding grenade rushed at the men, and the shockwave shattered all the windows and lights in the hallway.
“Cough, cough!”
“Aargh, aaaaaargh!”
A torrent of screams and the smell of hot lead.
The scent of gunpowder and the heat radiating from the gun barrel.
Kanghyeok threw himself into the middle of it all, grabbing the kukri he had held in his mouth.
“Gack, gurgle.”
And ran toward those who hadn't died instantly as they staggered to their feet.
“Huuuugh!”
A man, spotting Kanghyeok approaching in the moonlight filtering through the window, raised his rifle,
*Ping!*
but a pistol round from Kanghyeok pierced his lung,
*Ping!*
and a follow-up shot made him bleed from his forehead.
In that instant, Kanghyeok reached them.
The ones who had barely, and messily, survived the destructive force of the grenade.
*Thump-thump-thump-thump!*
He could hear more men rushing down from the floor above.
“Uwaaah!”
Despite their mangled arms, chests, and faces, the men picked up their guns, driven by the will to live.
Kanghyeok swung his kukri at them.
*Slash!*
Slicing through the carotid artery of the man in front, Kanghyeok pulled the kukri out as if slitting his throat.
*Thwack!*
He then stabbed the man by the wall, driving the kukri up into his abdomen,
*Ping, ping!*
shot the one approaching from the side in the chest and head,
“Grrgh!”
and kneed the man he had stabbed, who was reaching out to claw at his face despite the kukri embedded in his stomach.
*Thud!*
The impact of the knee on the hilt drove the tip of the kukri all the way to the man's spine.
“Gurgle.”
As soon as the man's dying gasp escaped, Kanghyeok twisted and pulled out the kukri. It was at that exact moment that the men from the second floor arrived.
“There…!”
Having appeared triumphantly with their portable LED lights, they froze the moment they saw Kanghyeok.
The hallway, thick with the smell of grenade explosives.
Kanghyeok, standing tall amidst countless corpses.
Faced with Kanghyeok, who exuded a more overwhelming presence than anyone they had ever seen, they instinctively flinched.