13. Since we're done with everything, it's time to go.
“Open it up.”
At the words of Deng Shunwang, cigarette in one hand, two members cut the lock on the container with a grinder.
As the container doors opened wide to either side, inside, the space was packed with pallets stacked high with sacks of potassium carbonate tightly wrapped in plastic.
“Move them.”
At the order of Hua Ziyuan, still wrapped in bandages, a forklift rumbled to life with a loud engine noise.
When four or five pallets had been pulled out of the container, Hua Ziyuan raised one arm.
“Stop!”
As the forklift backed away, Hua Ziyuan accepted support and climbed into the container with the other members.
“Tear that one open.”
Hua Ziyuan’s finger pointed at a yellow pallet.
It stood out sharply, its color clearly different from the others.
The members tore away the plastic wrapping and lifted off the 20 kg sacks of potassium carbonate stacked on the pallet one by one.
When they had removed about half the sacks, a member who had discovered something brought a single sack before Hua Ziyuan.
“There’s a mark.”
At one end of the sack, in a spot no one would notice unless they were looking closely, a small letter “M” had been written in magic marker.
Hua Ziyuan had a member hold the sack and stepped out of the container.
Deng Shunwang, who had been watching with folded arms while smoking, saw this and exhaled a puff of smoke.
“This is it?”
“Yes.”
“Take it out.”
At Hua Ziyuan’s signal, the member who had brought the sack pulled a jackknife and cut open the packaging.
When the sack was opened, it was full to the brim with bundles tightly wrapped in black vinyl rather than potassium carbonate.
Each bundle was about the size of a child’s head, and however tightly they were packed, they looked as though they couldn’t even be cut with ordinary scissors.
The member stabbed the center of the plastic wrapping with the jackknife.
Pulling down hard, white powder became visible through the gap.
It was cocaine disguised as potassium carbonate.
Deng Shunwang picked up a bit of the cocaine and soon nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Good. Load it up!”
“Yes!”
Hua Ziyuan quickly raised his voice toward the members.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and unload the goods! We head back as soon as we’re finished!”
The members began pulling the sacks with hidden cocaine out of the container and loading them into the Starex.
Watching from behind, Deng Shunwang flicked his cigarette, burned down to the filter, onto the dirt ground and spoke.
“You’ve already contacted all the distributors, right?”
Hua Ziyuan answered immediately from beside him.
“Yes. All the goods will be sold within the week.”
“We need to hand over the tribute money we couldn’t send last time as well. Make sure nothing goes wrong.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
At Deng Shunwang’s frigid gaze, Hua Ziyuan swallowed dryly and lowered his head.
His current standing had been driven to the edge of a cliff.
If he failed to be judged useful to Deng Shunwang, he too could be cast out of the organization at any moment.
Before long, the five sacks concealing cocaine had all been moved.
The member finally closing the trunk of the Starex let out a sharp cry upon discovering something.
“Th-that.”
“What is it?”
This was a place for transporting cocaine away from prying eyes.
Naturally, even a small commotion drew everyone’s attention, and Hua Ziyuan too unconsciously turned his head toward the sound and his eyes went wide.
A suit with no tie, and even a pitch-black gas mask pulled over his face.
The sight of a man walking forward without hesitation, step by step, toward a vacant lot packed with men whose massive builds screamed suspicion was like a mirage rising in the middle of a desert.
At the sudden appearance of the uninvited guest, Deng Shunwang frowned.
“What is that?”
When he looked to the side, Hua Ziyuan was trembling with a pale face, as though he had seen a ghost.
“Th-that bastard is……”
“What is it?”
“It’s him! The one I told you about!”
Though his face was hidden by the gas mask, Minseong’s impression from that day had been driven so deeply into his mind that he could tell who it was instantly from physique and aura alone.
Realizing the meaning, Deng Shunwang’s eyebrows shot straight up toward the sky.
“The one who killed Sun Chunlan?”
“That’s right! He’s covering his face, but it’s definitely him.”
Then Deng Shunwang’s gaze turned forward once more.
Minseong was still approaching with neither slow nor fast steps.
“How did that bastard know to come here?”
“Th-that’s what I’m saying. I don’t know how either……”
That the cocaine would arrive today was information known only to an extreme few even within the organization.
Yet how on earth he had known and appeared here was simply baffling.
“Tch. Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.”
Deng Shunwang clicked his tongue with a look of pity and emanated a fierce, dense killing intent.
“Rather, this is good. I was planning to find him and teach him a lesson, but since he showed up on his own, that saves me the trouble.”
If he made an example of him by turning the bastard into a bloody pulp, he could easily restore the organization’s wounded prestige.
“Catch him immediately and drag him before me!”
When Deng Shunwang shouted, Hua Ziyuan finally came to his senses and answered with a start.
“……Yes.”
Because the terrifying image was still vivid in his mind, he had no confidence he could handle Minseong.
But he couldn’t very well say he couldn’t do it here.
That day had simply been a collapse caused by a surprise attack.
Hua Ziyuan desperately consoled himself that if they fought head-on, there was no way this many members couldn’t handle one man.
‘That bastard has to die for me to live!’
Moreover, ever since that day, he had carried a hidden weapon just in case.
With resolve to clear his disgrace, Hua Ziyuan bulged the veins in his neck.
“What are you doing! Deal with him, now!”
It wasn’t only Hua Ziyuan who had suffered badly at Minseong’s hands at the club.
Most of the members here harbored fear from the nightclub as well, but their hesitation lasted only a moment.
They aimed the pistols they had brought just in case forward in unison and shouted.
“Stop right there!”
“If you move even one step, we’ll make you a beehive!”
This was the hidden weapon Hua Ziyuan had prepared.
Seeing the scene, Minseong muttered with a face that was hardly surprised.
“I knew this would happen.”
Since you can’t handle me with your bare hands, you’re going to use guns?
But hiding trump cards went both ways.
Without stopping his steps, Minseong gripped the tear gas grenades in both hands tightly and ran forward without hesitation.
Then the member aiming his pistol with tense eyes tried to pull the trigger.
That moment.
He screamed as his shoulder was struck by a bullet flying from somewhere.
“Keok!”
On the roof of the logistics warehouse overlooking the vacant lot.
O Suyeon, kneeling on one knee with her sniper rifle rested on the railing, muttered to herself as she watched through the telescopic lens the first target she had selected fall.
“That’s one.”
Turning the muzzle slightly to the side, O Suyeon quickly found a new target.
And with a calm face, she lightly inhaled, stopped her breath, and pulled the trigger slightly.
Bang!
As the heavy recoil tapped her shoulder, the ejected brass casing fell to the concrete floor with a metallic sound.
“Two.”
Keeping her eye to the telescopic lens, O Suyeon spoke dryly and turned the muzzle like a machine to find the next target.
“Keoheok!”
Once again, blood spurted from a member’s shoulder as he collapsed.
Only after three were hit in succession did the members clearly recognize the sniper’s presence and scatter in panic.
While each sought cover to hide, Deng Shunwang too took refuge behind a cargo pallet nearby.
“Her skills are indeed useful.”
So sniping was her specialty from the start; there was reason for her confidence.
Minseong put strength into his feet and stomped the ground quickly.
Without missing the gap where the members were mesmerized by sniper fire coming from who knew where, he closed in right to their noses.
“Eat this!”
Minseong threw the M7A3 tear gas grenades he held in both hands.
Hssss!
With a sound of escaping air, white CS gas spewed from the tear gas grenade that fell among the members and spread through the surroundings in an instant.
“Cough, cough.”
“Ugh. What is this!”
“Uwek.”
The members who had no choice but to inhale the CS gas unconsciously screamed, tears and mucus streaming from their faces.
The CS gas leaking from the tear gas grenade caused burning pain on the skin along with severe sneezing and vomiting; even a small inhalation had tremendous effect.
The best place to use it would be an enclosed space, but even out here, it was enough to leave them unable to come to their senses.
Completely unaffected thanks to his gas mask, Minseong raised the Glock pistols clutched in both hands to eye level and entered among the members.
The surroundings were hazy with the white CS gas filling the air.
“Hoo, hoo!”
Because he was wearing a gas mask, his breathing sounded even louder.
Spotting two members crouched behind a parked car, vomiting and coughing continuously, Minseong fired a short burst without hesitation.
Bang! Bang! Ba-bang!
“Agh!”
Those nicely shot through the shoulders and thighs toppled backward.
After turning and taking down three more members to the left, Minseong hurriedly dove behind the hood of a nearby car at the sound of gunfire from behind.
That instant, bullets flying in struck the spot where he had been standing just moments ago, sending concrete fragments flying.
“Shoot quickly! Kill that bastard!”
From behind a pallet stacked with calcium carbonate sacks, Deng Shunwang shouted with desperate malice.
Though he covered his nose and mouth with one arm, tears still streamed from his bloodshot eyes.
Right then, the member beside him grunted and suddenly collapsed, hit by a flying bullet.
“Shit!”
As Deng Shunwang quickly ducked down, another bullet flew in, tearing a sack and pouring white calcium carbonate powder over his head.
“Are you alright!”
Hua Ziyuan beside him asked in terror.
“Damn it!”
Deng Shunwang, face burning red, vented his frustration and dusted off the powder covering his body.
“What the hell is that guy!”
Hua Ziyuan was also extremely curious about that.
He had armed his subordinates with pistols, so he had thought this would be enough even if an unexpected situation arose.
No matter how skilled in hand-to-hand combat, couldn’t a single gunshot kill him instantly?
But tear gas grenades and a sniper!
Was this really happening in the middle of South Korea?
Could gun ownership have become legal without him knowing?
Otherwise, he simply could not comprehend the current situation where bullets were flying wildly like a battlefield.
“Keuak!”
Meanwhile, another member was hit by Minseong’s gun and rolled on the dirt ground.
Everywhere was filled with screams of agony, and blood sprayed here and there.
Realizing they absolutely could not win, Hua Ziyuan persuaded Deng Shunwang.
“Fighting any longer is impossible. For now, take the goods and get out of here!”
At those words, Deng Shunwang’s face crumpled fiercely.
“Are you telling me to run away now!”
“With such a big commotion, we don’t know when the police will rush in. If the goods are confiscated, wouldn’t that be the worst possible outcome!”
They outnumbered him greatly, yet the situation was tilting in the bastard’s favor.
And since there was no decisive solution to be found by holding out here, for now, it was right to fall back and secure the goods first.
Deng Shunwang knew that too, so he clenched his teeth hard.
“We can catch him later.”
“Wo kao!”
Unable to contain his anger, Deng Shunwang stomped the ground hard with his foot.
“We’re getting out of here! Cover the Starex carrying the goods so it can move!”
“Yes!”
“Keok!”
After shooting down a member secretly approaching from the side, Minseong leaned his back against a car tire and swapped his pistol magazine.
[Three o’clock! They seem to be trying to escape.]
At O Suyeon’s voice coming through the earpiece, Minseong turned his body and raised his head slightly over the hood.
Sure enough, he could see the opponents trying to slowly retreat.
“Where do these bastards think they’re running.”
After that rampage, the blowing wind had almost swept away the CS gas.
Minseong took off the gas mask he was wearing and threw it to the ground as he spoke.
“Can you hit the Starex tires?”
[That much is possible even with one eye closed.]
Having a comrade sure is reassuring.
Minseong flashed a grin and swept back his sweat-soaked hair.
“Since you’re at it, blow out all four wheels.”
[Roger.]
A moment later, bullets fired by O Suyeon flew in and burst the Starex tires one by one.
With a noise of tearing air, all four tires deflated and went flat.
Looking at the Starex slumped to the ground, Minseong’s mind raced quickly.
‘I’ve stopped the black society bastards from escaping, but dragging this out is unfavorable for us too.’
He wanted to avoid the police just as much.
The remaining enemies were merely about ten.
Minseong decided to settle the score here.
No matter how much O Suyeon provided covering fire, exposing his whole body and leaving cover would be madness.
But Minseong had something to rely on.
‘Last time, the time limit was ten seconds.’
After experimenting several times, he had confirmed that the condition for his ability activating was the moment Minseong was placed in danger.
So if he moved directly this time too, he could utilize the ability effectively.
However, if by any chance it did not go as expected, exposing his bare body before the enemies’ muzzles would be a disaster.
‘Focus.’
He steadied his breathing and concentrated his nerves.
As every cell in his body came alive, he felt the blowing wind, the thick smell of gunpowder, and each and every one of the enemies’ voices and movements.
This was precisely the ability Minseong had honed in his previous life.
Raising his senses to the extreme to read the enemy and find the optimal route leading to survival.
It was the realm of instinct possessed only by someone who had crossed life-and-death lines countless times.
Minseong maintained his focus, raised his body, and leaped out from behind the car hood where he had been taking cover.
At the sight of Minseong running forward, Deng Shunwang shouted with veins bulging in his neck.
“What are you doing! Kill him!”
As flames spewed simultaneously from the gun muzzles of the black society members—
As if by deceit, his ability activated, and time began to flow slowly.
‘That’s it!’
He had moved enough to dodge even if the ability hadn’t activated, but as it clicked perfectly into place, a thrilling pleasure coursed down his spine.
‘With a cheat ability like this, whatever I do has to be easier.’
Minseong counted internally and pulled the trigger mercilessly one after another, starting from the member closest to him.
The enemies too pushed their pistols forward to shoot at him, but their movements were far too slow compared to Minseong.
Every time Minseong stepped and flames spewed from the pistols in both hands, an opponent toppled backward.
And the short magic dispelled in an instant.
The world that had been moving slowly recovered its original time, and the members targeting him were all rolling on the ground.
Thud!
“Keuak!”
With a horrific sound, Hua Ziyuan beside him was struck in the shoulder by a bullet and tumbled backward.
The blood that spattered left a red mark on Deng Shunwang’s cheek.
“What……”
At the sight defying common sense, Deng Shunwang wore a blank expression.
He felt as though time had disappeared for a brief instant, and the members aiming their gun muzzles at Minseong were falling from gunshots like rotten bundles of straw.
How on earth?
He hadn’t even seen them fight, yet the outcome had already been decided; it was enough to leave his soul drained.
“What the hell……”
Deng Shunwang, wearing a stupefied expression, belatedly came to his senses and raised his pistol toward Minseong, but—
Minseong’s action was faster.
Ba-bang!
A sharp gunshot rang out, and an extreme pain like being stabbed in the body with a red-hot iron skewer struck his chest.
“Eu-eok!”
Swallowing the breath-stopping scream, Deng Shunwang dropped the pistol in his hand and fell backward like a rotten old tree.
“Keuluk! Keuk……”
As Deng Shunwang vomited blood in gushes, a black shadow loomed over his body.
In his fading vision, he saw Minseong looking down at him and aiming a pistol at his head.
“H-hey……”
Deng Shunwang moved his lips, but Minseong pulled the trigger with an expressionless face.
Bang!
A short gunshot rang out, and Deng Shunwang couldn’t even properly exhale his last breath before his life ended.
“Hoo.”
Minseong exhaled long and stood in place, slowly looking around his surroundings.
A complete mess.
The members were strewn about on the dirt ground here and there with gunshot wounds to their shoulders and legs, groaning, and the cars parked in the vacant lot had long since become beehives riddled with holes.
He discovered a familiar face not a few steps away and walked forward.
“Huu……”
Hua Ziyuan sat with his back against a cargo pallet, gasping for breath.
His shoulder struck by a bullet, his clothes were soaked with blood, and his face was full of misery.
“Hey.”
Hua Ziyuan raised his head and startled, trembling his shoulder.
Minseong looked down at Hua Ziyuan making a fearful expression and asked.
“We meet again?”
“Wo cao…… what kind of grudge is this? I didn’t even touch you, so why are you interfering and wreaking havoc!”
Sun Chunlan had lost his life, and now Deng Shunwang too.
Even if he escaped immediate death, he was in a position where he couldn’t avoid responsibility for consecutively botching matters.
Hua Ziyuan glared at Minseong with eyes that wanted to tear him to pieces.
“You were going to kill me once this job was done, weren’t you? So I struck first.”
“……!”
Struck in a vital spot, Hua Ziyuan couldn’t reply and instead crumpled his face.
“I told you. If you touch me, you’ll have to pay the price.”
At Minseong’s calm tone, fear crept up instead.
Hua Ziyuan, face turning pale, shouted desperately.
“If you kill me, the organization won’t leave you alone!”
“That’s funny. Even if I don’t kill you, they won’t leave me alone. Tell them to come anytime.”
Minseong had faced men worse than the black society.
Of course, back then, his dear comrades had been with him…….
Minseong erased the briefly surfaced memory and raised his pistol to aim at Hua Ziyuan.
Bang!
Since he had no intention of leaving a seed of trouble behind, he finished it for certain by shooting the head again.
Dust rose from the dirt ground as thick blood pooled.
Watching that scene briefly, Minseong hesitated a moment, then picked up the Type 54 pistol that had fallen beside the dead Hua Ziyuan and stuck it behind his waist.
Then an SUV drove up with a loud engine noise, kicking up white dust as it came to a stop.
O Suyeon, in the driver’s seat, lowered the window and spoke.
“Are you going to keep standing there?”
“Let’s go.”
He moved his steps and climbed into the passenger seat, and O Suyeon immediately stepped on the accelerator.
In the remaining vacant lot, only thick gunpowder smoke, the smell of blood, and the groans of the injured filled the air.
Not long after Minseong left.
Only then did police cars, having belatedly received the report, rush into the vacant lot all at once with sirens blaring.