Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: I'm Very Angry Right Now
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Han Young-im and her daughter didn't say much on the way to the base.
“Come out when you've calmed down. Call me if you need anything.”
After checking on their condition and even using healing magic to calm their minds, Gong Yeong-ji left the room.
“Yura, you must have been so scared, weren't you?”
Han Young-im asked, stroking Yura's hair. But surprisingly, Yura answered calmly.
“Mom, I'm okay.”
But even as she said it, there were dried tear stains around Yura's eyes.
“I'm so sorry. Because of me, our Yura...”
Seeing her daughter pretend to be fine, the emotions she had been holding back spilled out as tears.
“Mom, don't cry. I knew he would come to save us. He did before, remember?”
Instead, Yura patted her mother's back. Seeing her daughter act so maturely made Han Young-im cry even more.
“Thank goodness. I'm so relieved.”
She repeated the same words several times.
The moment they ran for the bunker was still vivid in her mind.
Yura, who had wanted to ring in the new year together, couldn't stay awake and fell asleep on the sofa. Han Young-im welcomed the new year stroking the hair of her daughter, who was sleeping with her head on her lap, and made a silent wish.
'Please let my Yura be healthy.'
As if she had heard, Yura stirred slightly in her sleep.
That's when the alarm sounded. The blaring warning jolted Han Young-im, and she instinctively woke Yura.
If they had been even a second later, something terrible would have happened.
The bunker!
Fortunately, they both thought of the same place and immediately ran for the basement.
The mother and daughter held hands tightly all the way to the bunker. As they got inside and lowered the blast door, something pierced through at the last moment.
It was a sharp dagger.
Luckily, the blast door closed without further incident.
Inside the small space, they could watch the outside through a monitor.
The attacker who had tried to kill them made several attempts at the wall before spewing curses. Then, for a moment, he seemed to calm down and think. As if he'd found a solution, he placed his hand on the blast door and closed his eyes.
As their anxiety grew, the mother and daughter held each other tighter.
Just as a smile spread across the attacker's face on the monitor, a black smoke that the camera couldn't capture appeared.
It was Sa Seon-gi.
The attacker collapsed as if his body had given out, and upon seeing Sa Seon-gi's face, Han Young-im's tension broke, and she sank to the floor.
They had waited until Wang-sik arrived before finally coming out.
“I was so scared something would happen to Yura.”
The entire way to the bunker, her only thought was that her daughter should never have to face such danger.
“Mom, do you know what the kids at school call me these days?”
When Han Young-im couldn't answer, Yura continued.
“Little Hero. Because you saved New Zealand, they call me a hero too. I really like this nickname.”
Han Young-im met her daughter's eyes.
How could Yura not be scared?
But Yura wasn't trembling at all. Instead, she smiled and said.
“I'm proud of you, Mom. You're my hero.”
Feeling like she was about to burst into tears, Han Young-im hugged Yura tightly again.
* * *
The Central Control Room agents who had gone home for the day began returning one by one, filling their stations.
The agents, who had rushed back, had disheveled clothes and hair, but no one paid it any mind.
“I've sent the photos. Please take care of it.”
After finishing his call with Smith in the US, Kang Il-seop saw that all the agents were at their posts and shouted without any preamble.
“Send these photos to every possible agency and find out who these bastards are!”
The two photos on the monitor were of the attackers who had targeted Han Young-im.
As the photos were sent to every connected agency, the agents began their respective tasks.
Meanwhile.
Wang-sik stared down at a man with an indifferent expression.
It was the attacker he had subdued at Han Young-im's mansion. The man, whose shoulder and knee were already bent at grotesque angles, trembled in fear.
Even the trembling seemed to cause him pain, as a groan escaped his clenched teeth.
“There's no point in resisting.”
“Ugh...”
Wang-sik found the situation strange.
The man was terrified. He could confirm it was genuine through Fear Detection.
Extreme fear.
At this level, anyone would break.
‘But he's not talking?’
The attacker was a Latino man in his late thirties.
After regaining consciousness, he had tried to attack once, but after being blocked by Wang-sik, he seemed to have given up.
He had felt the overwhelming difference in their skills.
Since then, he had vividly experienced his shoulder and knee being crushed, breaking his will and leaving only fear.
And yet, he wouldn't even say his own name.
As he pondered the contradictory situation, Kang Il-seop's voice came through his earpiece.
“He's been identified as a top-priority Evildoer on Interpol's wanted list. From Mexico. Name's Juan Cortez. Age 37. Suspected in fourteen murders, disappeared three years ago. He's an A-rank Awakened who worked as a supply manager for a Mexican drug cartel.”
“Juan?”
At Wang-sik's word, the man's pupils wavered.
“Why would a guy from a drug cartel attack us?”
Juan swallowed dryly.
“It'll be easier for you if you just talk. We'll find out everything anyway.”
Now that they knew his name, there was no reason for him to endure the pain. Yet, the man clenched his jaw.
‘Something's wrong.’
At first, he thought the man was clenching his jaw to bear the pain. But seeing his expression after hearing his name, he knew that wasn't it.
‘He's holding back from talking?’
The outcome is the same, but the meaning is different.
‘Is talking more frightening?’
Just as he had that thought, the man's body began to shake violently. The trembling soon turned into convulsions, and in an instant, his entire body contorted in a seizure.
“Guhh...”
Letting out a choked groan, the man went limp. He wasn't breathing.
* * *
As Wang-sik left the interrogation room, Gong Yeong-ji approached him. She stopped in her tracks, startled by the look on his face.
“Sir...”
The rage in Wang-sik's eyes made Gong Yeong-ji flinch. She had never seen him this angry, not even in the fiercest battles.
“Sorry.”
As Wang-sik apologized, Gong Yeong-ji came closer and took his hand.
A white light emanated from her hand and seeped into Wang-sik's body. As his tense muscles relaxed, the rigid expression on his face softened slightly.
“Thanks.”
“I'll take a look at him.”
Examining a corpse that had died contorted was not an easy task.
Nevertheless, Wang-sik nodded. It was a job she needed to do.
Leaving the body with Gong Yeong-ji, he went to the Central Control Room, where Kang Il-seop gave him an update.
“He's from the Carlos Family.”
The name of the Mexican drug lord, Carlos, was mentioned.
An S-rank Awakened, he was a figure even the Mexican government couldn't touch.
“Seeing as he disappeared three years ago and there's been no contact since, it seems he left the Carlos Family, but...”
“In any case, Carlos will know something.”
“Probably. He wouldn't have just let a member disappear without looking into it.”
“I need to meet him.”
“Are you planning to go right now?”
“Yes.”
Wang-sik's reply was curt. Warning bells went off in Kang Il-seop's head, but different words came out of his mouth.
“I'll handle the fallout, whatever it may be.”
As Wang-sik turned to leave, Kang Il-seop gestured to Sa Seon-gi with his eyes. Sa Seon-gi naturally fell in step beside Wang-sik, and Min Ha-na started to move as well.
“One of you needs to stay and guard this place.”
Min Ha-na seemed to agree, not protesting, and gave Wang-sik a look of support.
As Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi headed for the gate to the US, Kang Il-seop quickly issued orders.
“Arrange for transport to Carlos's mansion.”
The control room staff stopped what they were doing and began to move busily.
“Commander, it's going to take some time to arrange a flight.”
Carlos's base was in Mexico City.
The distance from New York to Mexico City was about a five-hour flight by passenger jet.
Their relationship with the United States wasn't strong enough to just commandeer a flight from a New York airport, so it was bound to take some time.
Just then, someone entered the Central Control Room.
“I'll handle it.”
The person who appeared with a confident stride was Han Young-im.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I'm fine. Yura is asleep.”
Han Young-im had seemingly forgotten what she had just been through, her expression back to its usual businesslike self.
The only difference was the cold, sunken look in her eyes.
“I can't just let the bastards who threatened my daughter get away with it.”
From her emotionless, businesslike tone, Kang Il-seop could feel just how furious she was.
“Yura is family to us, too.”
“Then shall we go catch these sons of bitches?”
Han Young-im raised her smartphone.
Upon arriving at the New York airport, Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi were guided by a waiting man and boarded a private jet immediately. It belonged to the CEO of an American IT company, and thanks to Han Young-im's connections and Kang Il-seop's network, they were able to take off without any delay.
Benito Juárez International Airport, Mexico.
After passing through a special arrivals gate, a group of rough-looking men in jeans and leather jackets were waiting for Wang-sik.
Kang Il-seop had already contacted them.
“This way.”
The tone was professional but not particularly friendly.
After about an hour in a recklessly driven car, they arrived at a large mansion on the outskirts of the city.
It was larger than Lennox's mansion on the Azelan Continent, with armed guards posted everywhere. Among the guards, those who weren't carrying weapons were all Awakened.
Even by car, it took a while to cross the grounds, and soon the sound of music reached them.
It looked like a party was underway. Women in skimpy swimsuits danced sensually while men covered in various tattoos mingled with bottles of alcohol in their hands.
When the car stopped and Wang-sik got out, Carlos, who had been lounging on a sunbed by the pool, sat up.
However, he didn't stand up until Wang-sik approached.
“First time in Mexico? This is an important party, so I couldn't cancel.”
Carlos shrugged and lay back down on the sunbed. Wang-sik ignored him and showed him a photo on his smartphone.
“Juan Cortez. You know him, right?”
Carlos glanced at it and shook his head.
“Don't know him. As you can see, we Mexicans all look alike. We can't even tell each other apart sometimes. If my friend sat here, my men would come up and call him boss.”
Hearing this, his underlings all burst out laughing.
“You don't look too happy. Is it a cultural difference?”
“I'll ask again. You know this bastard, right?”
“You need to learn some manners. Or should I teach you?”
Carlos was now openly hostile.
It was probably because of the Royal Club. Wang-sik had already turned his back on them, so naturally, Carlos, a member of the Royal Club, wouldn't like him.
As Carlos stood up, the music suddenly stopped, and the women quickly went inside the mansion.
All that remained were the men with rough expressions, who glared at Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi as if on cue.
There were over fifty men, all looking ready to pounce at any moment.
They were all Carlos's trusted subordinates and Mexico's top enforcers, sharing the common trait of being A-rank Awakened. But Wang-sik paid their stares no mind, his eyes fixed only on Carlos as he spoke.
“I'm very angry right now.”
“So?”
Wang-sik deliberately spoke with force in his voice, making sure everyone could hear.
“It means I don't have time to mess around with a junkie bastard like you.”
At those words, the atmosphere turned murderous. The Awakened all drew their weapons at once, but Carlos raised a hand to stop them.
“Have you forgotten where you are? Even if you have no manners, you should at least show some respect.”
“I told you, I'm very angry.”
Carlos finally realized.
Wang-sik had come here prepared to fight the entire Carlos Family.