Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: An Explosive Party
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Haon’s trembling gaze shifted between Cue and Rusty.
Rusty wore an unconcerned expression, a profound smile on his face.
“There are probably a few people here who feel that way. Who are you talking about, I wonder.”
Cue also stroked her chin, deep in thought, leaving Haon utterly confused.
Neither of them seemed like people facing someone they wanted to kill.
“Why… Why did you want to kill me?”
“Because you gave me a commissioned item with a bomb hidden inside, just because I smiled and talked to Nova, the man you’re crazy about. I almost lost my fingers.”
“You trashed my bar to vent your anger because Nova went abroad for a month. You even unleashed dogs.”
Haon was speechless at their answers.
It was shocking that she had done such things, and that she had smiled and spoken to someone like that, but…
‘Nova? Did they say Nova?’
Nova was an Awakened villain renowned for being capricious and dangerous.
His name was marked as a person of interest on the villain list, so she had studied him carefully.
Could the owner of that oversized T-shirt in the penthouse have been Nova?
‘To think ‘Eun Haon’ and Nova were involved like that. That means Nova doesn’t even know his lover is dead.’
Feeling a pang of pity for Nova, yet also a headache at the thought of what to do if she ever met him, Haon looked up as a thought struck her.
“But why didn’t you kill me? Did you try and fail?”
“…You really did hit your head hard, didn’t you? A few days later, you said the prank went too far and made me an EMP bomb for free, so we agreed to call it even.”
“She installed a security laser gun at the entrance of my bar for free, so I decided to let it go.”
The two acted as if they had completely forgotten ‘Eun Haon’s’ rampage.
It was incredibly strange, but for Haon, it was a relief.
She was just breathing a sigh of relief when a dark skull took a step closer.
Startled, she looked again and saw it was Weaver from Sector 5.
“So, are you really not taking commissions right now? No separate reservations or accepting extra payment?”
Despite her black skull face, she exuded an elegant aura.
“Th-that’s right. I don’t think I could make anything even if I took a commission.”
Feeling an inexplicable pressure that made it difficult to speak casually, Haon used formal language. Weaver’s eyes widened before curving into a gentle smile.
“I see. You don’t seem to be in the right state of mind to take commissions.”
Two-Shot, who had been watching cautiously, also muttered, “Well, that’s a bust,” upon hearing Haon’s formal tone.
Cue, seemingly deciding there was nothing more to gain from Haon, pointed to the display cases.
“That’s enough introductions for now. Everyone, take a good look at the items you like. This auction is going to be fierce.”
The woman smiling confidently was the host of this private exhibition and the owner of the warehouse.
Feeling she had more or less achieved her goal, Haon proudly headed toward a display case.
Then she saw two guards heading up to the second floor and jumped in surprise.
She hurriedly pressed her in-ear and whispered softly.
“Two guards with pistols are heading up…!”
* * *
Juyeol hid in the shadows, surveying his surroundings.
The second floor of the warehouse was a simple office space.
After confirming it was empty, he entered the largest office, which reeked of cigarette smoke.
Juyeol scoffed and began rummaging through the desk.
Cue possessed a formidable ability that had allowed her to conquer Sector 1, but that was the extent of it.
‘The rumors about her being sloppy must be true. Sector 1 will probably fall to another villain soon enough.’
Controlling and holding a sector required more than just an Awakened’s ability.
The fact that she smoked right above the warehouse and didn’t even lock her office door suggested considerable carelessness.
And just as he expected, Cue stored even important documents haphazardly.
‘What does she think this flimsy lock is going to do?’
Juyeol easily picked the drawer lock with his knife and found the document he was looking for.
It was a list of the goods Cue had smuggled in this time.
‘Just as I thought, they’re from Macau.’
Confirming the point of origin, he quickly flipped through the pages and soon found a name.
‘…There he is.’
A villain’s smuggling ship didn’t just bring in goods.
A good number of villains also entered the country illegally on those ships.
This time, a man who had left for Macau several years ago had been brought in with the cargo.
「Gowon」
Juyeol’s eyes blazed as he stared at the name.
The infamous arsonist from a decade ago had returned on Cue’s smuggling ship.
Just then, Haon’s voice came through his in-ear.
[Two guards with pistols are heading up…!]
Juyeol tapped his in-ear twice to signal he understood.
The office had no windows, so his only way out was through the hallway.
He pressed his ear to the door and heard two sets of footsteps entering another office.
He quietly opened the door, checked the empty hallway, and stepped out.
The moment he did, the door to the adjacent office flew open.
“Ah, I forgot my cigarettes.”
Juyeol quickly melted back into the shadows and struck the passing guard on the back of the neck with his pistol, knocking him out.
He effortlessly slung the large man over his shoulder, moved him into the other office, and then knocked on the door of the office where the remaining guard was.
“What? Just come in. What’s with the knock?”
A grumbling voice came from inside before the door opened.
*Click.*
Juyeol pressed the muzzle of his silenced pistol firmly against the guard’s forehead.
“Just spare my life. I don’t have any loyalty.”
The guard raised both hands and spoke brazenly. All the guards here were members of Cue’s gang.
‘Can’t even manage her own subordinates?’
Juyeol scoffed inwardly and asked coldly.
“Gowon entered the country on a smuggling ship. Do you know anything?”
“That arsonist? I don’t know, wait!”
He panicked when he saw Juyeol’s index finger tighten on the trigger.
“I think he was trying to join the old-town gang!”
Juyeol’s eyes narrowed.
Arsonists generally worked alone. Why would he suddenly join a gang?
“I-It’s true. I saw him begging our boss to let him join our gang, but she refused.”
Lost in thought for a moment, Juyeol nodded, then swung the butt of his gun upward, striking the man’s chin.
The man lost consciousness in a single blow and crumpled onto a table.
Pushed by his arm, a chair toppled over onto a rack of shotguns leaning against the wall.
Before Juyeol could react and reach out, the falling shotguns let out a series of deafening blasts.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
“Damn it.”
Even with an exhibition in full swing downstairs, there was no way that sound could be missed.
Especially not by villains with a sensitivity to gunfire.
Juyeol clicked his tongue and pressed his in-ear.
“Did you hear gunshots?”
[I heard four. What happened? The guards are heading up…!]
Hearing the panic in her voice, he completely abandoned the faint hope he’d harbored and left the office.
Just as Haon had said, the sound of footsteps was rushing toward him.
“Where are you? Tell me what you’re standing in front of.”
[Um, it’s colorful and pretty… It’s, uh…]
“Hurry!”
[A-A bracelet that looks like a well-ripened waxy corn!]
“…”
Juyeol was dumbfounded that he immediately pictured a specific bracelet from that ridiculous description.
“Don’t move from there.”
* * *
Haon stood anxiously, tapping her foot on the ground.
The sudden gunshots had put the villains on high alert, their sharp eyes scanning their surroundings.
Cue, the host of the exhibition, stood at the bottom of the stairs, her face contorted in anger.
‘A lot of guards went up. What should I do?’
Haon was glancing at the ceiling, about to order Blue to scan, when it happened.
*CRASH!*
A large winch suddenly plummeted from the ceiling.
An entire display case was obliterated, and screams erupted from all around.
Haon, who had been about to duck under a display case in surprise, realized it was Juyeol’s doing and glanced toward the stairs.
“Which bastard dares!”
Cue, her lips trembling with rage, was seen loading a gun.
‘He told me to get out when I see a chance, but how can I…!’
*Crack! Shatter!*
At that moment, bullets flying from an unknown location shattered lights here and there, causing fabric draped on the ceiling and walls to fall.
While people struggled to free themselves from the cloth that had fallen over them.
A figure, holding onto a white sheet, began to descend the wall from the stair railing.
It was Juyeol, who had shed his wig and coat and pulled a hat down low over his face.
No one would have recognized him as the bodyguard who had entered with Haon.
“Get that bastard now!”
Cue shouted hysterically, pulling a six-sided die from her pocket and rolling it.
The number on the die was 4.
For the next five minutes, Cue was immune to the next four attacks.
Even after seeing Cue use her ability, Juyeol didn’t hide.
*Bang! Bang!*
Instead, he fired rapidly, chipping away at Cue’s invincibility count.
Cue and the other villains fired wildly at the intruder who had ruined their party.
Juyeol wrapped the white cloth around himself, let go, and dropped straight down.
He seemed prepared to take a bullet or two.
But the moment Haon swung her phone, the bullets, unable to pierce the cloth, fell away with a clatter.
The villains murmured in confusion, and even Juyeol, who had landed with a roll, hesitated as he went to push the cloth away.
The texture of the cloth must have felt completely different.
Haon pressed her in-ear and whispered.
“Juyeol, duck.”