War with the Honglyeonbang (2)
Once inside the hideout, Jaehyuk was engaged in a fierce gunfight against the Honglyeonbang members.
Jaehyuk fired his assault rifle in single shots and controlled bursts, dropping them one by one. When they closed the distance, he used the fourth-generation Glock 19 holstered at his side or his knife to slit their throats. He moved fluidly through the gunfight—taking cover, firing, reloading—methodically cutting down the Honglyeonbang members. Occasionally, he would snatch fresh magazines from the rifles of the fallen.
That was when Jeonghan caught up behind him.
"Where's Shin Jaeguk?"
"We'll have to find him now."
National Intelligence Service agent Kim Wonjin, who had been hiding among the Honglyeonbang members, was deliberately firing wide—intentionally missing Jaehyuk and Jeonghan.
I didn't expect the Gangryonghoe bastards to charge in without any negotiation… Well, if it's all-out war right from the start, it gives us the perfect justification to investigate them. Not a bad outcome.
As the number of Honglyeonbang members dwindled during the shootout, he suddenly put a bullet through the head of one of them.
Unaware of what was happening, Jaehyuk and Jeonghan continued their assault, while Wonjin kept eliminating more Honglyeonbang members.
"Hold on. Something about this picture feels off."
"What?"
"Doesn't it look like they're fighting each other?"
Jeonghan had been watching the Honglyeonbang members closely and noticed one of them was killing several of his own.
"Who knows? Maybe it's over money?"
"Whatever. Let's clean up everyone except that one causing the chaos."
"Okay."
The three of them wiped out every last Honglyeonbang member in the area. Afterward, Jaehyuk and Jeonghan turned their guns on Wonjin, staying on high alert. In response, Wonjin raised both hands and dropped the Glock 17 in his right hand to the floor.
"I'm Korean. And…"
After answering Jaehyuk's Chinese question in Korean, Wonjin quickly scanned their surroundings to make sure no one else was listening, then continued in a low voice.
"I'm from the Agency. I was sent to stoke their internal conflict and spark a war."
"Are you here on my uncle's orders to provide support?"
"Yes. You must be Sergeant Lee Jeonghan, and you're Inspector Park Jaehyuk, correct?"
Jaehyuk and Jeonghan slowly lowered their weapons. Jaehyuk spoke to him.
"That's right. But where is Shin Jaeguk?"
"He's in the room with the red door in the basement. There are quite a few guards, so be careful."
"Understood. Thank you."
Wonjin walked off somewhere while Jaehyuk and Jeonghan found the door leading to the basement and opened it, descending the stairs. As they went down, Jeonghan spoke to Jaehyuk in a low voice.
"This really takes me back. Remember when we rescued Dahyun back in our senior year of high school? You went full one-man army that time."
"You won't get caught off guard and take a hit this time, right?"
"Of course not, dumbass. Let's hurry."
The two friends kept their assault rifles trained forward as they continued down the stairs.
Meanwhile, outside the hideout, the Gangryonghoe members were still locked in a gunfight with the Honglyeonbang forces. Ha-jun had the stock of his Micro Uzi pressed firmly against his shoulder, firing in controlled bursts to cut down the enemy. When they got too close, he switched to his Glock 17 and used the Mozambique Drill—two shots to the torso or chest, followed by one to the head. If they got even closer, he would strike with elbows or knees, or use the muzzle of his gun to hit vital points, then apply joint locks to turn the attacker into a human shield before mercilessly emptying several rounds into their body.
The way Ha-jun moved looked exactly like a special forces protagonist from an action movie slaughtering villains.
Oh Ha-jun… His father was Spetsnaz, and he learned martial arts from him.
Du-won watched Ha-jun with silent admiration. While he was distracted, one of the Honglyeonbang members charged at him swinging an axe. Du-won dodged the attack, then swung his machete across the man's abdomen. The attacker collapsed, his stomach torn open, dragging out a mess of blood and fat-covered intestines.
Du-won continued to kill enemies with his Tokarev TT-33 pistol or literally carve them apart with his machete. Watching him kill with that blade made death by gunshot seem almost merciful by comparison. He would slice open stomachs, hack at necks two or three times until the head came off, stab arms and then rip the dangling limbs clean off, using the severed arms as improvised weapons. His fighting style was utterly barbaric and cruel.
Meanwhile, Kanghun advanced while slashing enemies with his kukri and picking up fallen firearms to shoot them. When one Honglyeonbang member aimed an assault rifle at him, Kanghun noticed instantly. He dove and rolled through the crowd, dodging the bullets that instead struck innocent bystanders. He sliced off the leg of the nearest Honglyeonbang member with the kukri in his right hand, then used the S&W M5906 pistol he'd acquired in the chaos to fire five rounds into the abdomen of the man behind him. After putting a bullet in the head of the fallen, legless enemy, he stood up and finished off another who was gurgling and dying from abdominal wounds.
At that moment, another member charged at him swinging a machete. Kanghun dodged the attack and immediately sensed from the man's movements that he was skilled.
Li Xiaokan took up a stance as he spoke. Kanghun gave a short laugh.
Li Xiaokan charged, swinging his machete. The two clashed weapons and dodged each other's strikes in a fierce duel. Suddenly, Li Xiaokan stepped back and drew a USP Compact pistol. Seeing this, Kanghun slipped into the crowd to avoid the gunfire.
"Ha, that son of a bitch… Pulling a gun in the middle of a knife fight?"
Muttering to himself, Kanghun dodged an attack from another Honglyeonbang member rushing him and buried the kukri's blade in the man's throat. He twisted the blade violently. A sickening sound of bone scraping against metal rang out as bright red blood sprayed across his face. With his face now drenched in crimson, Kanghun picked up a fallen CZ 75 Pre-B pistol with his left hand and grinned.
"This guy really knows how to have fun."
Kanghun preferred raw, no-holds-barred fights over fair and honorable ones. To him, Li Xiaokan—who fought in a similarly ruthless manner—was an interesting character who truly understood the thrill of combat.
When he spotted Li Xiaokan again, he unleashed a barrage of gunfire. Li Xiaokan took cover among the crowd and evaded the shots.
"That's right. Let's have some real fun today, you fucking bastard."
With a grotesque, chilling smile twisting his face, Kanghun advanced toward Li Xiaokan, kukri and pistol in hand. Their battle resumed. They fired at each other while gradually closing the distance, using the surrounding crowd as cover. Bullets grazed their temples, arms, and sides.
A short while later, when Li Xiaokan's pistol ran dry, Kanghun quickly closed in and aimed at his face. Li Xiaokan dropped his empty gun, grabbed Kanghun's hand, and twisted the barrel aside to avoid the shot—but the bullet still tore off his left ear.
Kanghun swung the kukri in his right hand, aiming to rip open Li Xiaokan's abdomen. But Li Xiaokan reversed his grip on the machete and blocked the attack with the blade. As the two men struggled for dominance, Kanghun delivered a front kick to Li Xiaokan's stomach. When Li Xiaokan stumbled backward, Kanghun aimed the still-loaded pistol at his face.
At that exact moment, a Honglyeonbang member body-checked Kanghun. The sudden impact made him stagger, and his shot flew past Li Xiaokan's right temple and buried itself in the ground. Kanghun barely regained his balance. When the attacker picked up a knife from the floor and charged again, Kanghun dodged, then tried to slash the man's abdomen with the kukri in his right hand.
The man retreated to avoid the strike, but Kanghun rushed forward, dropped his empty pistol, wrapped his left arm around the man's right leg, and slammed him to the ground. He then drove the kukri's blade into the fallen man's right arm.
Kanghun followed up with merciless elbows and fists, beating the man so brutally that his face was nearly caved in and one of his eyeballs had popped out and rolled across the floor. Finally, Kanghun grabbed the kukri again and drove it repeatedly into the man's skull, killing him. Fresh blood splattered over the drying blood already coating Kanghun's face.
In the end, the man was slaughtered beyond recognition, his face hacked to pieces. Breathing heavily with rage, Kanghun looked around for Li Xiaokan, but the man seemed to have fled in the meantime.
"Goddammit… I was just starting to have some fun…"
During the chaos, several Gangryonghoe members entered the Honglyeonbang hideout. A mysterious figure wearing a mask and blue sunglasses also slipped inside through one of the hideout's windows.
In the basement of the Honglyeonbang hideout, Jaehyuk and Jeonghan continued pouring gunfire at every enemy they encountered, cycling through shooting, taking cover, and reloading.
All their guns are AK series… Meanwhile, both of ours are AR-15 platforms. The magazines and ammo aren't compatible at all. It's a good thing we grabbed spare magazines upstairs, but if we run dry now, we'll have no choice but to take theirs.
Thinking this, Jeonghan kept fighting. Jaehyuk suddenly shouted in frustration.
"Fuck, there are way too many of these bastards!! No wonder they're called chinks—they're pulling human wave tactics like the damn chinks they are!!!"
"If we had two or three grenades, this would be over."
"How many rounds do you have left?"
"Two magazines."
"I… only have one left now."
At that moment, gunfire erupted from behind them. Someone wearing blue sunglasses and a mask, armed with a B&T MP9 submachine gun, was helping them by mowing down the Honglyeonbang members.
The mysterious figure tossed a bag slung over his shoulder to Jeonghan and took cover behind a wall. When Jeonghan opened it, he found it packed with STANAG magazines compatible with AR-15s.
"What is it? Grenades?"
"No. Magazines."
"Would've been better if they were grenades."
The mysterious figure stared blankly at Jaehyuk, as if to say, Just take what you're given.
While the masked man helped them eliminate the remaining Honglyeonbang members with his submachine gun, Jeonghan slid two magazines over to Jaehyuk. Together, they brought down the last of the enemies. Jaehyuk and Jeonghan then located the red door that Wonjin had mentioned and found Shin Jaeguk.
"President Shin?"
When Jaehyuk called out to him, Jaeguk looked up.
"We're from the Gangryonghoe."
"Ah… Thank you…"
At that moment, the mysterious figure approached Jeonghan and Jaehyuk. Jeonghan expressed his gratitude.
"I don't know who you are, but thanks to you, this went a lot smoother. Appreciate it."
The man tilted his head silently while looking at Jeonghan. Jeonghan asked,
"Do you… not speak Korean?"
Then they heard footsteps. The mysterious figure immediately opened fire with his submachine gun in that direction.
"Kyaa!! What the fuck?! There was another one??!!"
Startled by the sudden gunfire, Chae-yoon's scream rang out. Jeonghan urgently shouted toward her.
"Chae-yoon! It's okay, stop shooting!"
He then turned to the masked man, who was still aiming his submachine gun in the direction of her voice.
"It's fine. She's one of us. So lower that gun."
The man hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering the barrel.
"Jeonghan?! What are you doing over there??"
"We found Shin Jaeguk! That gunfire just now… was friendly fire from our side!!"
Chae-yoon carefully poked her head out. The mysterious figure was still pointing his submachine gun at her with clear distrust. Chae-yoon, holding an MP5K, along with several other Gangryonghoe members armed with firearms and bladed weapons, approached Jaehyuk and Jeonghan.
"Jeonghan, are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, right?"
"Yeah. Luckily, no injuries."
Chae-yoon glared at the person who had just fired at her and asked Jeonghan,
"Who the hell is this rude bastard who just shot at a lady?"
"He's the one who helped us. He gave us magazines and provided covering fire. Thanks to him, we were able to find Shin Jaeguk much more easily."
"Hmm…"
Chae-yoon looked the mysterious figure up and down. He was around 5'9", dressed in black tactical clothing and combat boots, wearing blue sunglasses and a mask. He lightly bumped her shoulder with his own as he walked past and continued down the corridor. Chae-yoon glared at his retreating back and grumbled.
"What kind of rude asshole does something like that? If he hadn't helped Jeonghan, I would've put a hole right in that thick skull of his…!!"
"Chae-yoon, calm down."
"Sigh… I'm only holding back because of you, Jeonghan. If it weren't for you, I really would've put a bullet in his head…"
"I get it, so just calm down and let it go."
With that, the Gangryonghoe members secured Shin Jaeguk. They headed back up to the surface to finish off the remaining Honglyeonbang stragglers who were still fighting.