Chapter 22 – The Second Relic (3)
5.
Bucheon European Porcelain Museum.
There was a group of people who were very obviously not allowed in this room of expensive European masterpieces, flashes constantly going off.
“Oh, it’s a Meissen.”
Chang Sung Hoon, who could be considered to possess the most uninhibited and dangerous mouth, began to talk.
“Meissen? What is that?”
Ahn Sun Mi asked, unable to bear with the silence any longer.
“It’s the pinnacle of European luxury goods. Is it apt to say that if it were a car, it would be a Benz?”
“Is it expensive?”
“Yes. Even if it’s not an entire set, that teacup would go for 5 million won.”
“That little teacup can go for 5 million won?”
“That much is cheap. Some Meissen Vases can go for 8 thousand euros.”
Ahn Sun Mi’s jaw dropped at the price.
“······how ridiculously expensive.”
“Well, that’s why there are thieves, right?”
“I was wondering, can you really figure out what it is just by looking at it?”
Chang Sung Hoon laughed lightly hearing Ahn Sun Mi’s question.
“It’s because I can that I became a criminal at such a young age. Well, to be fair it’s also because I haven’t been caught yet.”
Chang Sung Hoon, he was still young.
He wasn’t even a young man, he was a chick who has yet to even receive a college diploma.
An art forger who needed great skill and insight, a fence who sold stolen good, someone who smuggles; he definitely had a discerning eye and a degree of skill unbefitting of his age.
Could he forge undetectable works of art as an art forger, or safely sell authentic stolen good or smuggle goods without being caught if he didn’t have a great insight or great skill?
“But is there an artifact like Napoleon’s champagne cup here?”
“Of course. Would I all of a sudden ask to come here without any reason? A guy who wanted to steal gave a quote for it······.”
He wouldn’t have known of Napoleon’s champagne cup if he wasn’t a criminal with connections.
“······you can even find relevant articles on the internet. Ah, my smartphone isn’t working right now.”
“Why is such an amazing thing in this place······.”
“It’s not as amazing as you think it is. Most people aren’t interested in Napoleon’s champagne cup.”
Having said that, Chang Sung Hoon turned his head after dispelling their doubts, ending the conversation.
They saw the serious expression in Ahn Sun Mi’s eyes.
It looked like she felt something.
“This way.”
Following her, Kim Tae Hoon and Chang Sung Hoon saw it.
A golden champagne cup that gave off a subtle golden sheen was inside a gla.s.s case.
“······It’s a good thing we came here.”
Although it looked expensive, the crystal gla.s.s with gold decorations didn’t seem special on its own.
However, on one side of the cup was the letter ‘N’ studded in bra.s.s, giving off a special aura. It was a trace of Napoleon. Knowing that as a human he wouldn’t be able to survive the flow of time, he had left a semblance of his being so that he would not be lost to time.
A trace of Napoleon, a figure who had single-handedly altered human history, was right
before them.
“It’s a really good thing that we came here.”
It was self-luminescent.
It had now become more than a simple trace, for it had gained an immeasurable value.
“This is my contribution. Please do not forget it.”
Instead of replying to Chang Sung Hoon, Kim Tae Hoon brought out his smartphone, brought up the camera app, and tapped the screen.
Click!
Kim Tae Hoon’s gaze focused towards his phone. Ahn Sun Mi and Chang Sung Hoon crowded around him, trying to push their heads in so they could see.
Like that, they saw it.
[Napoleon’s Golden Cup No.3]
– Relic Grade : Grade 3
– Relic Rarity : Unique
– Relic Effect : One of six golden cups favored by Napoleon. In times of crisis, the cup will produce a champagne that grants the ability to resolve the crisis.
A great tactician.
This is the secret of Napoleon the Great, who was able to read the flows of danger during an unpredictable age of war.
6.
Hwaleuleu
Mek Clan soldiers were huddling together in front of a fire to loosen their bodies.
It was a result of the Fear that the werewolf had driven into their bodies.
Even if they were not affected by the werewolf, the cold weather did not easily let them leave the auspices of the fire.
There was only one person who could bear to move away from the flames.
Swik!
In the distance, Bang Hyun Wook was grasping a metal stick in his hand and swinging it around like a baseball bat, sloughing off the shackles of the Fear and the cold.
Swik!
There was no surprise that his swings were so strong when combined with his Energy.
‘This is awesome.’
Swinging the stick around, Bang Hyun Wook was amazed at his change.
‘If I could have swung a bat this fast before the draft picks, I could have received a blank check from any major league scout······.’
Bang Hyun Wook couldn’t help but imagine.
What kind of attention and fame could he have gotten if he had this sort of power while in high school? Imagine that.
But in the end, his fantasy was more bitter than sweet.
Bang Hyun Wook blew out a long line of mist as he imagined it.
“d.a.m.n it.”
His long sigh was like a bitter dot at the end of his remark.
It was because of the anxieties and concerns that began to surface in his mind.
His parents’ faces, then his friends’ faces began to emerge in his mind. Even the face of a girl he had a crush on in high school, and in the distance, smoke rising from an apartment that was like a pile of firewood.
It was one of the reasons why Bang Hyun Wook was practicing his swing in this cold weather.
There weren’t many ways for Bang Hyun Wook to spend time in this world where entertainment options like a TV or a smartphone games were not available or could not be wasted.
To him, the silence was a source of distress.
So he wanted to move his body and talk with someone.
“Ah, Second Lieutenant-nim! May I ask a question?”
In front of Bang Hyun Wook’s fiery determination, Kim Su Ji was like his prey.
Now that her body had limbered up a bit, she was willing to answer his questions, and nodded her head.
“Second Lieutenant-nim and hyungnim are acquaintances right?”
Kim Su Ji silently nodded in response to his question. Bang Hyun Wook spoke while quickly moving his pinky finger up and down.
“Then, what exactly is your relations.h.i.+p?”
Kim Su Ji looked at Bang Hyun Wook’s pinky finger, not quite understanding what he meant.
Bang Hyun Wook was willing to give her a friendly explanation.
“Were you and hyungnim ever lovers?”
“What ridiculous noise!”
Her face having turned white, Kim Su Ji quickly tried to give an explanation.
“I only briefly saw him in the past.”
“In the past, then in the army?”
“I saw him at the army headquarters in the past. Very briefly. That’s the only connection I have with him.”
“Then, does that mean hyungnim is a former soldier? That’s a relief. I thought he was like a hitman or something. A hitman is cooler than a soldier, but it’s better that he’s a soldier. Then was he from some sort of special forces unit?”
“That······.”
Facing Bang Hyun Wook’s rapid-fire questions, Kim Su Ji couldn’t really say anything.
‘It’s not an information I can reveal to him······.’
She did not have the privilege to answer his questions.
Kim Tae Hoon was the only one who had the clearance to reveal that he belonged to a secret black ops unit, not recorded in the history of South Korea.
Of course, Bang Hyun Wook didn’t intend to make things difficult for Kim Su Ji, but he was really curious.
He had already spent a lot of time letting some questions and concerns remain unanswered in his mind.
So Bang Hyun Wook’s lips kept flapping away with n.o.body able to stop him.
“Excuse me, but do you know where we can get tanks or rockets······.”
Bang Hyun Wook momentarily shut his mouth on his own.
He shut his mouth and looked at the road with a serious expression on his face. There was a rabble of people walking down the road that he and the Mek Clan members had spent no small amount of time to clear.
Kim Su Ji also turned to look.
“Alert”
Kim Su Ji let loose the loudest cry that she could muster.
“Alert”
She screamed again.
“Alert”
“This is an alert!”
Hearing the cry, the soldiers briskly rose from their positions and began to move in unison towards their guns.
Vroom!
The driver deftly landed in the driver’s seat and turned on the engine.
“Get in!”
“Hurry up and get up here!”
The soldiers swiftly climbed into the dump truck’s loading box and pointed their rifles out of the box, their bodies filled with tension.
Kim Su Ji swiftly climbed into the dump truck.
Planting his two feet on the ground, Bang Hyun Wook was the only one who did not get into the truck.
“Huuu!”
The a.s.sault leader can’t charge if he’s in the truck.
‘Bang Hyun Wook, don’t hesitate. Don’t hesitate to be a man. If it’s something dangerous I have to deal with it. I have to go.’
He was no longer an average human who would hesitate to smash a monster’s head in.
“Huuu!”
So while prepping himself for a battle, Bang Hyun Wook was like a locomotive, constantly breathing out long lines of mist into the air.
It was evidence of his tension.
As time pa.s.sed, the distance between the two parties narrowed, allowing both sides to identify each other.
‘Civilians, must be survivors.’
‘d.a.m.n, what do we do?’
Confirming that they were survivors and not monsters, the soldiers lightly bit their lips.
“S, soldiers!”
“You say they’re soldiers?”
“It’s soldiers!”
Realizing that those in the dump truck were soldiers, the faces in the crowd were overcome with joy.
“We’re saved! We’re saved!”
“Yes!”
“We’re finally saved! It’s a rescue team!”
Shouts of joy came from those who couldn’t believe it, and tears of happiness streamed down the faces of those who couldn’t stand their joy.
The crowd of survivors could not stop themselves from moving towards the dump truck as though they were compelled by something.
Like zombies from a film.
The soldiers were fl.u.s.tered.
‘What’s this? Why are they coming towards us? Why are they approaching us!’
‘Th, this, do we have to shoot them? d.a.m.n it, do we have to open fire on them? Should I say something?’
If it were monsters, they would have already taken aim at them before receiving the orders to fire.
But regardless of whether or not they’re armed, these were civilians were they not?
Their opponents were humans, and thus their hearts wavered as their guns were aimed towards them.
“This area is off-limits!”
It was the same with Kim Su Ji.
She would give out firing orders against monsters, but in this situation against civilians, she could a.s.sume that giving the order was the right way to go, but it might not be the right thing to do, and it definitely wasn’t something a level-headed person would do.
“This area is off-limits! If you come any closer, we will shoot!”
Kim Su Ji shouted again. She gave a warning.
However, the people approaching the dump truck did not think to stop.
“We’re survivors! We survived!”
“Please help us! S, Seoul, right now Seoul······.”
“What the heck!”
Kim Su Ji didn’t know what to do when faced with all these cries for help, praise for life, and tears of desperation that were being constantly released.
Kim Su Ji’s expression hardened.
‘What should I do?’
Her head also turned stiff.
‘The other party is just defenseless civilians.’
As soldiers, there are some things they are instructed to do about civilians.
Of which, it was emphasized that they were not to even sneeze on the civilians!
To Kim Su Ji and the other soldiers, there was nothing they could fall back on to deal with the situation.
Even Bang Hyun Wook, who wasn’t a soldier, was fl.u.s.tered.
‘What in the world, Joo Ha Yeon?’
A girl with a familiar face that Bang Hyun Wook would never forget was in the crowd.
‘W, why is she here?’
The distance between the soldiers and the civilians narrowed even further, the soldiers unable to do anything in their uncertainty.
It wasn’t a pretty scene.
It wouldn’t be strange if something huge happened.
Awoooo!
The sounds of howling left a streak of an unsightly color on the scene.
It wasn’t a simple sound.
Within it was an obvious strength and hostility.
“Huk!”
Hearing the howls, the feet shuffling towards the dump truck stopped.
Tutu, tutu!
The gunshots that arrived behind the advent of the howls made the civilians stop.
“This is a warning.”
It was time for a warning.
“Anyone who draws near will immediately be killed without warning. I’ll say it one more time. Anyone who approached the dump truck without permission will be fired upon without warning. Everyone lie flat on the ground.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and focused on the source of the warning, Kim Tae Hoon.