Chapter 125 – Terrorism (3)
Shortly after the academy terror incident was settled, the Diamond Club declared strict action against terrorist groups. A declaration without a declaration of war or anything else was adapted by reporters to create a confrontation between a terrorist group and the Diamond Club, and the Black Dragon was quietly assisting the Diamond Club.
The Diamond Club Research Lab, owned by the Diamond Club, was a facility that captured and researched monsters inside the gate under the auspices of the Diamond Club. Senior Yoo Jeong, Ichie, and Seong Hayeon Hunter were assigned to this research center and were checking the walkie-talkie to see if there were any suspicious people.
In addition to this, the members of the Black Dragon Room and the Diamond Club, respectively, the headquarters of the Diamond Club and the training ground where new recruits train. And it was on the side of the academy. At this time, all the labor costs were paid by the Diamond Club, but since they ordered an unexpectedly large amount, I sat on the steps of the front door without complaint and pressed the radio.
“Senior Yoo Jeong. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“Yes. No big deal. What about Ichi?”
“Nothing wrong.”
Yujeong was at the back door, and Ichie was at the inside. As I monitored this facility, I had my doubts. Will a guy with the ability to unify things walk in? Wouldn’t there be a way for me to know if he came in while swimming from the bottom of the asphalt?
So, Seong Ha-yeon Hunter took this into account and requested the dispatch of surveillance-type abilities, but the Diamond Club replied that they could not apply because all surveillance-type abilities were currently assigned to other facilities.
It seemed that the staff was empty because one person died in vain during the Kim Chun-bae incident. Other guilds seemed reluctant to send out rare monitoring-type abilities, so in the end there were only four of us in this lab.
“Can we catch it?”
“No?”
Hunter Seong Ha-yeon replied indifferently. Even if she thought about it, if she didn’t have surveillance-type abilities, it seemed that there was absolutely no way to catch someone who would burrow into the ground or break through walls. Seong Ha-yeon Hunter said.
“They say that this is a less important facility, so we’re the only ones sending it, but I don’t know if this is correct. Isn’t that why you’re coming here unconditionally?”
“Well.”
I replied nonchalantly. Since this radio belonged to the Diamond Club, it was not allowed to bring up stories such as the conflict between Hyun-Ki Kim and the Diamond Club. After answering, I looked around again. There was no one walking around the lab. This was because it was a bit far from the city center.
The appearance of me in a suit made me feel even more suspicious. I adjusted my clothes once more and took another look at the researchers walking around. No one looked suspicious, and the research was proceeding as usual. Jungle Cats and Elder Spider specimens in test tubes could also be seen here.
It was not a very nice view to see the internal structure cracked open. I turned my head again to calm the sudden surge of discomfort. The horizon was packed with buildings. The busy landscape, with cars adding to their series of noises, was peaceful as usual.
******
Seong Ha-yeon Hunter smoked a cigarette on the balcony and looked inside. She leaned against the railing and looked in front of her, giving a glimpse of the interior of the hallway on the second floor. On the first floor, Ichigaya Ichie was looking inside. One wave of her walkie-talkie forced her to calm her recurring feelings of uneasiness.
Even though the police are nearby, aren’t 4 hunters too few people? Do you know how many opponents will come and tell them to keep it with only 4 people? But she didn’t bother to bring it out. Because she was the leader of this union now.
When the captain expressed anxiety, the subordinates would also tremble. She just smoked her cigarette again to soothe her own insecurities. A tower of tobacco was already being erected in the ashtray on the balcony.
*****
On the third day of surveillance, we were exhausted. I was tired of looking into the empty plains and playing rock-paper-scissors remotely with Hunter Seong Ha-yeon, who was leaning on the railing.
“Pigeon.”
“Wild goose.”
“Airplane food.”
“Ceremony? Ah, something that starts like that.”
So we were playing catch-ups on the walkie-talkie. It wasn’t that I was neglecting my surveillance. Because we were definitely looking everywhere. Seong Ha-yeon Hunter scratched her head and said.
“Ceremony, ceremony, Arbor Day.”
I nodded and said.
“Sunday.”
I could see the floor wriggling. I didn’t know what the next word was. I immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke again.
“Suspicious movement to the front. Suspicious move.”
In an instant, the wriggling floor disappeared as if a mole had dug into it. Seong Ha-yeon Hunter asked, sticking her head out over the railing.
“Where?”
“The ground just shook, but it’s gone.”
“Okay? Is there any chance it could be a mole or something?”
“It was very big for a mole. That’s at least the size of a man.”
As evidence of that, even now, the ground is standing out like an unripe pimple. Seong Ha-yeon Hunter also checked the newly created basin and asked.
“Press the button?”
“Well. To press now…”
*******
“Press. By pressing. Call them all.”
Seong Ha-yeon Hunter turned her head in surprise at the voice coming from behind her. Kim Hyun-ki appeared in the gap of the building made of steel, like a villain in a classic robot movie. There were several small balls in his hand, but even at first glance, they were suspicious.
As soon as Seong Ha-yeon saw him, she pressed the emergency bell without hesitation and called out.
“Kim Hyun-gi on the second floor! Kim Hyun-ki!”
And she ran towards Kim Hyun-ki. Hyeon-ki lightly dodged her fingertips, which flew quickly, and sent her knee toward Seong Ha-yeon’s stomach. She put Sung Ha-yeon on her foot and she blocked his knee, then she took a step back from her and she aimed her kick at his face.
“Oops!”
Kim Hyun-ki, who was hit in the face by his foot, took a step back. Balls fell from his hands. Seong Ha-yeon said after taking a look at the items that were scattered here and there like Legos messed up by children.
“You are behind now. Kid.”
“No.”
Kim Hyun-ki shook his head and sank to the floor again. Seong Ha-yeon quickly reached out to catch him, but Kim Hyun-ki had already fallen to the first floor and scattered several more balls as if rust water had leaked out. Ichie, who was going up to the second floor, saw him hanging from the ceiling on the first floor, drew his sword and rushed at him.
“Late. It’s late.”
Kim Hyun-ki said that and avoided Ichie’s knife. The gap between a skilled C-class hunter and Ichie, who had just finished D-class, was significant. Hyungi narrowly dodged the knife with a paper-cut difference, then climbed back up to the second floor.
Seong Ha-yeon, who was going down the stairs on the first floor, saw her and spat out swear words.
“Fuck you!”
Seong Ha-yeon’s swearing seemed to resonate quite well with Kim Hyun-ki. Unfortunately, there was not a single Hunter who could catch up to Kim Hyun-ki’s mobility. Kim Hyun-gi said as he attached the balls he had thrown on the floor to the wall. The ball attached was drawing a square.
“You guys can’t catch me. It will continue to be dragged by me, and it will end. Why did you put guys like you who have no mobility or anything in a facility like this in the first place?”
“Because…”
The wind blew. Kim Hyun-ki’s smiling face hardened. A bitter wind blew through the laboratory. Even though this place is not so windy, a strong wind was blowing through the laboratory. A gloomy, angry voice was heard carried by the wind.
“Because… Because I’ve been waiting around here.”
It was a trap from the start. In order to catch Kim Hyun-ki himself, Ji-wan Jang led her to her laboratory. The fact that all the members of the Diamond Club and the Black Dragon’s Room were driven to other facilities, and the fact that there seemed to be no surveillance staff organized, were all traps set up by Jang Ji-wan to catch Kim Hyun-ki himself.
Kim Hyun-ki dived to her floor without looking back. But when he poked her head out to her first-floor ceiling, Jang Ji-wan’s distorted face and fierce fists were flying.
Bang!
Kim Hyun-ki’s body was thrown out of the laboratory with a roar that seemed to tear the entire laboratory apart. Kim Hyun-gi’s body, which broke through the laboratory wall at the speed of her bullets, fell to the floor and disappeared as if it were seeping into a swamp. Jang Ji-wan trembled with anger when he saw the wall of the laboratory without a trace even though Kim Hyun-ki broke through.
“Inoooooum!”
Jang Ji-wan took a step to the lab railing, picked up the walkie-talkie, and shouted. Jang Ji-wan did not come alone. He had been accompanied by an A-level supervisor.
“Sangmin! Find his location!”
“Yes. There is an object running towards the lab from the 5 o’clock position right now.”
This was a plain. There were only a few private houses and research institutes on the plain where it was hard to find a single building. Jang Ji-wan immediately came down to the middle of the plain and caught his breath. Then he lifted his feet up to head level and slammed them down to the floor with all his might.
Cooong!
With Jang Ji-wan at the center, dozens of meters in all directions sank deeply, as if struck by a meteorite. And, in the midst of it, Kim Hyun-ki floated up like a bug caught in a spider’s web and was coughing up blood.
“Keep it off!”
Kim Hyun-ki twisted her whole body and made her scream. Jang Ji-wan smiled and ran to him. He reached out and grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air. Kim Hyun-ki’s face was already a wreck. Her blood was flowing all over her body, and her hands were shaking.
Jang Ji-wan clenched the fist of his other hand and prepared to smash his face. At that moment, the button in Kim Hyun-ki’s hand was pressed hard.
******
Seong Ha-yeon was admiring Jang Ji-wan’s overwhelming strength from over the railing on the second floor. She felt the damp smell of her gate wafting from behind her. To think that it was because the plain was turned upside down, even the growling sounds of the monsters and their unique life style were too vivid.
Seong Ha-yeon looked behind her involuntarily. Gate. The gate was open. The balls installed by Kim Hyun-ki a moment ago suddenly caused a ripple, and a space was opened between them. A lava crawled out of it, glaring at Seong Ha-yeon with her bloody eyes.
“Oh, fuck!”
Seong Ha-yeon was startled and jumped down to the first floor. At the same time, Lava broke the railing and jumped out.
“Cooooo!”
Jang Ji-wan reflexively looked back, and when he saw Larva, who suddenly jumped out, he couldn’t help but be embarrassed. Kim Hyun-ki said while Ji-wan Jang took her eyes off her, taking out an escape device from her waist.
“See you next!”
The moment Kim Hyun-ki pressed her escape device, Jang Ji-wan removed his hand from him. In the place where Kim Hyun-ki was, only weak waves resonated.
