Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Voyage to Freetown
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With a resounding BWOOOOONG from the ship's horn, the massive container ship set off.
"I imagine you'll find it quite uncomfortable. My apologies—it's originally a container vessel, so the facilities are extremely basic."
As I gazed at the container ship slicing through the waves from the bow, the captain approached and greeted us.
"Come on, I'm not that clueless. I know the difference between a container ship and a cruise liner."
A luxury passenger ship built for leisurely cruises couldn't possibly have the same facilities as one meant purely for hauling cargo.
And honestly, this was more than fine. We had beds and meals—what more could anyone want?
"I like this better than a cruise ship."
Han Sang-ah replied, her hair whipping in the sea breeze.
"Really? I figured it wouldn't suit a rich girl's tastes."
She shot back at my words.
"No stupid galas or welcome parties. They won't even let you wear training clothes. And the food sucks."
Jeong O-hun, who'd been listening in, made a puzzled face.
"Rich people's senses are weird."
It wasn't that rich people's senses were weird—maybe Han Sang-ah was the weird one. Other rich folks probably loved that kind of thing.
Not many people hated being treated like VIPs.
The trip from England to near Dakar would take about four or five days. Container ships had their speed limits, after all.
From what I'd heard, getting a job on a container ship heading to Korea involved insane competition.
"Mostly because they transport food supplies."
At least they fed their crew properly. That was the root of the fierce competition.
New crew members on their first container ship ride often suffered stomach issues for days.
Even with adjusted diets to avoid problems, suddenly eating decent food shocked their systems.
"The captain's Korean, huh."
The captain nodded at my comment.
"Koreans handle the key roles."
Other countries lacked the resources to train high-education positions like navigators or captains.
Of course, that didn't mean there were no foreign key staff, but the Korean government was pretty uncooperative about it.
"Let me know if you need anything. Oh, and if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."
He asked the three of us for autographs—and a commemorative photo to boot.
No reason to refuse, so we obliged the captain's request.
"Korean companies are digging up your old interviews right now, desperately tying them to their products any way they can."
For example, someone had figured out that the instant noodles we ate during our first meeting with Chairman Han Sang-cheol were Jin Ramen mild flavor, and sales had skyrocketed.
Sure, we'd eaten them, but only Han Sang-ah had actually had that meal besides me.
Han Sang-ah spoke up after hearing the captain.
"They're selling novels about us too."
"What novels?"
As Han Sang-ah opened her mouth to answer, Jeong O-hun quickly clamped it shut and said,
"Stories about the three of us playing trains nicely in bed."
Damn it.
I could guess why Jeong O-hun had silenced her. Han Sang-ah would've just blurted it out bluntly with crude words, unlike his roundabout phrasing.
"Fame's a hell of a thing."
I muttered.
"I'm heading in."
Han Sang-ah nodded.
"Sure."
"You sticking around here?"
She nodded again.
"Ocean gazing."
It was just churning saltwater, but for some reason, Han Sang-ah stayed glued to watching the sea.
Three hours later, when I returned to the bow, she was still staring at it.
Days passed like that. Aside from training and meals, Han Sang-ah spent all her time blankly gazing at the sea.
That's just how she was, so Jeong O-hun and I didn't fuss—we each did our own thing.
"No pirates so far. They usually show up around here."
We'd entered the Atlantic. Our drop-off point wasn't far now.
We were scheduled to disembark at Freetown in Sierra Leone, past Dakar.
We could've gotten off in Western Sahara, but that would've defeated the purpose of our escort. To protect the ship from pirates, we needed to pass Dakar— their stronghold—and then disembark.
"Sierra Leone, huh."
Famous for diamonds—and even more infamous for its terrifying security.
Still was, actually. Nobody hated diamonds. Humans and crows had that in common: they both loved shiny rocks.
"Smuggling's still going strong, of course."
According to Jeong O-hun, Sierra Leone was still producing diamonds.
Packed neatly, they flowed through black market routes straight to Korea for sale.
"One of the Barbary's revenue streams."
North African oil and African diamonds weren't protected by hunters. The Barbary guarded those resources.
Criminal hunters on the run or those who'd never joined up but had power didn't lose that strength.
"First time heading straight to Freetown for me too."
Jeong O-hun didn't seem to know the details either. Back-alley life was one thing, but why would he ever come to Africa?
"You know One-Arm's running the Sierra Leone diamond mines, right?"
"One-Arm?"
Jeong O-hun nodded at my question.
"Missing an arm. Or rather, it's detached and floats around invisible. Anything it touches turns invisible too, apparently."
Grab a sack full of diamonds with that transparent hand, and the whole sack vanishes from sight.
Modern detection gear couldn't spot that invisible arm, at least.
"Perfect for smuggling."
No need for elaborate concealment—just pass right through.
"Oil, precious metals, drugs. The three wonders raking in profits for Africa's thugs."
Crimes between people? That was outside our wheelhouse. We weren't world police.
The real reason we were offing Seo Shin-cheol was to keep our promise to Chairman Han Sang-cheol.
Otherwise, we'd be prepping to hit Club Sandai instead.
"Around here..."
The captain told us. We transferred to a small boat from the container ship, waved goodbye, and headed for Freetown in Sierra Leone.
The boat roared toward Freetown. As if on cue, eight speedboats armed with machine guns charged at us.
"Wanna switch?"
Jeong O-hun replied to me.
"Can't drive a boat, but you know how to handle a speedboat?"
Why was this guy suddenly spouting something so naive?
"Why would we drive? Stick a knife to their throats, and they'll do it themselves."
"Oh, right."
As we chatted, the approaching speedboats suddenly unleashed a barrage at us.
Han Sang-ah drew her sword and swung at the incoming bullets amid the gunfire—the threatening ones ricocheted away with sharp whines.
"Why don't they get that this is pointless?"
I muttered, plunging my spear tip into the sea and telling Jeong O-hun,
"Bet this fog can pierce it."
As I finished, the spear tip vibrated, shattering seawater into a mist. Thick fog enveloped our boat in seconds.
"Don't need two, right?"
Jeong O-hun said that as he pulled a grand, imposing machine gun from his subspace. The barrel looked at least 40mm wide.
It didn't fire live rounds. True to the name, it launched mana shells with cannon-level power.
I grabbed a megaphone and announced. My amplified voice boomed over the sea.
"Hey, don't surrender. You're all dying anyway."
If it were Lee Se-eun, maybe mercy. But we didn't care about your sob stories. They say nine excuses for every three deaths?
Hearing them all out would take forever.
"Heeya!"
Jeong O-hun yelled and pulled the trigger on the hefty gun. Da-da-da-da-da! Bluish mana shells swarmed toward their boats like bees.
At the same time, his tattoos flickered, and some shells unleashed the power of certain hits.
After time enough to cook instant ramen, all but one speedboat had sunk like submarines.
The last one's fate was sealed. As we approached, it tried to flee.
"Hey, grab that one."
Couldn't chase a fleeing speedboat in this rubber dinghy.
"Got it."
Han Sang-ah focused. The escaping speedboat's speed dropped sharply—like magnetic pull.
"Done."
The boat caught up, and we boarded the speedboat.
"Hey, friends. Speak any Korean?"
One guy suddenly drew a gun. My spear extended in my hand, swung, and his head flew.
"Shit, you startled me. Why pull a gun and act crazy?"
I shook the blood from the spear tip.
"Don't move recklessly. I'm vulnerable to jump scares. Think of me as a dog that bites when spooked."
No clue if they understood, but the vibe screamed "act up and die."
I glanced around, pointed at the cockpit, and said,
"Freetown."
One slunk over cautiously.
"Freetown. Freetown."
He took the controls and started driving. Looked like he got it—and the direction was right for Freetown.
Gazing toward Freetown from the moving speedboat, Jeong O-hun spoke up.
"Well, well, these bastards have rocket pods too?"
Developed for boats like this because real missiles were too pricey.
"Those explode. Kinda hard to slice with a sword."
Jeong O-hun replied,
"No worries. I'm the Aegis anti-air system made of blood and flesh."
No sooner said than he whipped out a massive sniper rifle and fired at distant Freetown.
A crimson beam sliced the air, smashing something. Probably the rocket pod launcher targeting us.
"Anti-air system, my ass."
Was his "anti-air" code for preemptive strikes?
"Preventing missile launches is anti-air. Don't have to shoot down incoming ones. Vaccines prevent infection too—that's treatment."
Couldn't argue with that.
No witnesses, it's assassination. Undetected looting is perfect strategy. Neutralize the attack, and that's defense.