Chapter 58 – National Treasure (3)
6.
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun stood silently on the runway.
In front of him stood a man and a woman standing at attention.
The silence lasted for a long time.
“Unbelievable.”
It was Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s sigh and exclamation that broke the silence.
Kim Yuri and Kim Joohyuk both flinched when he began to talk. While eyeing the two of them, he began to speak.
“I had thought that my faith in the two of you wouldn’t change, but what you’re telling me right now is hard for me to believe."
“Forgive us sir.”
The two of them immediately asked for forgiveness.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun looked at the two of them and spoke.
“I still have faith in you, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that the story you have told me about Kim Tae Hoon is impossible for me to believe.”
“We have not lied!”
“That’s right. We’ve not lied!"
Seeing that Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun was unbelieving of their report, the two of them spoke up to emphasize that what they were saying was true.
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun closed his eyes. The lieutenant colonel started thinking about their nonsensical story.
‘He killed a yellow ranked monster without laying a hand.’
He was aware that Kim Tae Hoon’s abilities were incredible. His fight with Oh Saeb.u.m was enough to confirm that.
Also, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s personality required that he maximize his own skills and options so as to prepare for the unknown.
As the commander of the 35th Battalion, he had to.
He was the head of a group responsible for handling terrorist groups targeting the Republic of Korea. He wasn’t a soldier that would ever look down on an enemy or rule out the fact that a civilian might be an enemy, and so as a result, he would always picture the enemy’s figure in his head to the point of overworking himself.
However, Kim Tae Hoon’s abilities according to Kim Yuri and Kim Joohyuk’s report was much more than he had expected.
No, rather, n.o.body would have expected Kim Tae Hoon to be so strong.
‘It’s not that it’s beyond expectations, but common sense.’
Literally beyond common sense……
And in the face of that realization, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s heart began to beat faster.
‘Opportunity in crisis.’
The only person in contact with Kim Tae Hoon currently was Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun.
If Kim Tae Hoon’s influence grows, then Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s influence, being in contact with Kim Tae Hoon, would have to grow as well.
‘If I carry this out alone, then my position will improve on its own.’
If Kim Tae Hoon successfully fulfills this mission, then the achievement would of course go to Yoo Daehyun.
‘Everything turned out moving according to Kim Tae Hoon’s scenario.’
At that moment, Lieutenant Colonel made the decision to walk with Kim Tae Hoon.
“The two of you will remain in Bucheon and observe Kim Tae Hoon. No, I suppose you won’t be able to.”
Kim Yuri and Kim Joohyuk had distorted expressions on their faces when given that direct order. They had initially gone to spy over Kim Tae Hoon, but since he had discovered them, it wouldn"t be a good idea to try and do so again.
“Well actually, it’s rather good now.”
However, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun was rather pleased with how things had turned out.
“If Kim Tae Hoon is able to successfully save her in Incheon, we can attach her to him.”
In fact, he could attach people to Kim Tae Hoon.
Kim Joohyuk couldn’t help but ask a question in the face of the lieutenant colonel’s command.
“If by "her" you mean……”
"Kate Kennedy. Kim Tae Hoon’s mission this time is to rescue her from Incheon.”
7.
“Who is Kate Kennedy?”
While walking back to Bucheon, Chang Sung Hoon asked Kim Tae Hoon a question shortly after hitting the road.
“Why is the Capital Defense Command willing to give you a national treasure in exchange for saving her from Incheon. She seems to be an American?”
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun’s demands were simple.
To rescue the woman named Kate Kennedy in Incheon.
The moment her name came up, Kim Tae Hoon did not ask a single question as though he already knew her ident.i.ty. So of course Chang Sung Hoon would ask.
“She’s the daughter of someone named Douglas Kennedy.”
“Who is that?”
Kim Tae Hoon didn’t bother to hide her ident.i.ty.
“The US Amba.s.sador to Korea.”
He told him the ident.i.ty of the woman without any hesitation.
“What?”
The problem was something that Chang Sung Hoon couldn’t imagine.
Chang Sung Hoon stopped walking and stood still. After a bit of silence, he exclaimed with wide eyes.
“Th,the US Amba.s.sador to Korea?”
It was something he did not expect.
But on the contrary, it was a name that Kim Tae Hoon was familiar with. It was a name that he had to be familiar with. Since if anything happened to the amba.s.sador or any of his family members, the consequences for the Republic of Korea wasn’t something to laugh at.
“But why the amba.s.sador’s daughter……”
“To make sure to bring the amba.s.sador over to their side.”
Hearing that, Chang Sung Hoon put on a sour expression.
“So because of that, they’re willing to give you a national treasure if you save an American instead of a Korean? No, I know that he’s not just an average American, but even then, we’re not even going to save him but instead going to save his daughter in exchange for a national treasure…… the behavior of the Korean top bra.s.s is so……”
[TN: Let me be clear, Chang Sung Hoon isn’t expressing disgust towards Americans. He’s expressing disgust towards the Korean politicians who are placing more importance on a foreign dignitary than on their own native people of power, ie. president, prime minister, etc. Basically, he’s disgusted with their greed and lack of interest in national security. They’re willing to exchange a national heirloom for their own benefit.]
From how Chang Sung Hoon saw it, a national treasure wasn’t something you could so easily approach. They were meant to be admired from a distance.
“Regardless, once you rescue his daughter, that amba.s.sador ought to be very grateful towards you. I’m hoping he doesn’t know how to distinguish between personal and private matters. Only then would we get any benefits from saving her.”
There would be no good feelings about the exchanging of a national heirloom for another country’s person.
In other words, Kim Tae Hoon wasn’t too pleased with the current situation.
“He’d probably be happy. In this h.e.l.lish world, to rescue his family which may as well be the only precious thing left to him would mean a lot.”
“Yes, other people out there can’t even check in on their family let alone meet them.”
“Some threats would yield good results for them.”
“That is correct. Threats…… what do you mean?”
“If I were to point a gun to the amba.s.sador’s head, he probably won’t yield; however, if I point a gun at his daughter’s head, then the story would be different.”
Hearing what Kim Tae Hoon said, Chang Sung Hoon became speechless. He simply stood there and looked at Kim Tae Hoon.
What Kim Tae Hoon had said was simply that terrifying.
Having spoken those scary words, Kim Tae Hoon drew up a picture of the current situation of Seoul in his head.
‘The US Amba.s.sador to Seoul is a good key. However, putting up a national treasure just so that they have someone to hold hostage is a bit of an excessive investment.’
He understood why they wanted the daughter of the amba.s.sador. It wasn’t a bad card to keep on hand.
However, offering a national treasure in exchange for intimidating a US Amba.s.sador seemed like a steep price.
However, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun had stated that they were willing to pay at least that much.
It meant that the situation was not simple.
‘Of course, if by doing this they’re able to influence the US Armed Forces in Korea, then it would be worth it.’
If there are any problems in the USFK allowing for the amba.s.sador to step in and take command, then let alone one national treasure, it would be worth it to hand over several.
‘If they were to frame the situation like a war…… then even without the president or the prime minister, as long as they have the USFK, it would be more than enough to justify what they plan to do.’
The power and prestige of the USFK was just that great.
Looking at the big picture, if after some time the United States is able to get back up on its feet and moves its forces in Korea, then any force in opposition to the USFK is done for.
‘If they’re able to successfully recruit her…… then even if they lose a national treasure, they won’t lose anything.’
Even if he didn’t gain a national treasure, simply being in guardians.h.i.+p of the US Amba.s.sador’s daughter would be good enough.
Having listened intently to Kim Tae Hoon’s story, Chang Sung Hoon snapped back to reality.
“Does he want us to go save the daughter with the actual intention of threatening the amba.s.sador?"
“If it’s not that, then it would make no sense for them to pay us a national treasure. One national treasure at this point in time is enough to rival a whole group of fighters.”
“So they’re buying a hostage off of us and paying us in national treasures.”
Hearing Chang Sung Hoon sum up the situation, Kim Tae Hoon paused.
Having heard what Chang Sung Hoon said, Kim Tae Hoon couldn’t help but recall something that Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun had said.
‘You’ve changed a lot.’
He had said that Kim Tae Hoon had changed a lot.
However, Kim Tae Hoon didn’t feel appreciative.
‘I’ll have to change more.’
He knew better than anyone that he needed to change in order to survive.
‘I’ll have to get as much as I can."
8.
“Huk, huk, huk!”
The man running on the road was like a large car. He was running in a crazed manner like a train on a track, steam coming off of him like steam being expelled from from a train.
The only difference was that trailing behind him were terrifying things.
Keuuuh!
Those who were chasing him were unidentified monsters.
Starting from their appearance, they were strange looking creatures. They looked like monkeys, but because they were covered in mop-like hair, it might have been more apt to call it a bundle of hair. The only visible part of their body was their club-like noses that protrudes from within the mess of hair.
Large Nosed Orangutans.
There was one kind of monster that had claimed this jungle of collapsed buildings and broken cars known as Incheon as its territory.
Its race was a race of cruel and evil monsters.
‘d.a.m.n it, d.a.m.n it!"
They would capture humans and play around with them.
It was literally as said.
They didn’t just eat the humans they captured, they would toy with them first. They would crush the limbs of their captives so that they couldn’t escape, afterwards proceeding to throw their feces at them, inflict pain upon them but not let them die, and even sometimes rape both men and women alike.
As a result, those who get captured by the Large Nosed Orangutans would eventually become nothing but gory messes.
‘I can’t get caught! It’d be better to just die!"
The man who was currently running, Bae Sungjoon, had seen it happen many times. That was why he was so desperate.
“f.u.c.k!”
At that moment, the visage of a ruined building appeared before Bae Sungjoon. It was a dead end that completely blocked the road.
‘Why is the road here blocked? The deafening roar from yesterday?"
Bae Sungjoon turned his neck to the side.
Kueh!
At that moment, one of the Large Nosed Orangutan chasing after Bae Sungjoon threw a stone at him.
Peuk!
That stone struck him right in the shoulderbone.
“Ggeuahk!”
Bae Sungjoon fell to the floor while screaming. While falling, his hair turned white.
‘Euhah!’
The now white-haired Bae Sungjoon began to think of all the things he wanted to do in the future.
"N, no……”
It was his desire for life that made Bae Sungjoon snap back to his senses. Bae Sungjoon forced himself to raise his body. He slowly turned around and looked behind him. He stared at the Large Nosed Orangutans approaching him.
Then he shouted at the top of his voice.
“F, f.u.c.k off! I said f.u.c.k off!"
Hearing his spirited cry, the orangutans began to giggle under their breaths.
One of the orangutans got up from its seat and threw a stone at Bae Sungjoon.
Bbak!
The stone struck Bae Sungjoon right in the chest. Bae Sung Joon’s face crumpled as he once again fell to the floor.
A few more Large Nosed Orangutans approached Bae Sungjoon whilst picking up rocks from the side of the road.
They began to play.
‘These f.u.c.kers……!’
Realizing the orangutans’ intentions, Bae Sungjoon began to overflow with both anger and dread.
Bae Sungjoon knew what he would have to face in the not-too-distant future.
The orangutans kept throwing stones at Bae Sungjoon in order to incite fear so that he would p.i.s.s his pants. Additionally, they’ll smash Bae Sungjoon’s limbs whenever they feel like it and drag him back to their nest. Once he’s there, he’ll undergo far more excruciating horrors.
“Ggeuah! Euhaaaaaah!”
In the end, all Bae Sungjoon could do was let out a desperate cry towards the heavens.
“Please, please save me! Please! I’ll do whatever you say!”
There are no G.o.ds.
Having denied the existence of G.o.ds despite what he gone through since December 31st, Bae Sungjoon reached out towards them.
But there were no G.o.ds.
Swiik!
Instead, there were only monsters.
“Please! Ple…… huh?”
It happened in an instant.
Accompanying the sound of the wind, the five orangutans reaching out towards Bae Sungjoon suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Shortly after coming to a stop, they collapsed onto the floor. The thud of something hitting the ground rang out five times in quick succession.
The Large Nosed Orangutans leaked out a mixture of cerebral fluid and blood.
Bae Sungjoon froze at such an incredulous sight.
A shadow came over his head. Bae Sungjoon turned his head.
The monster that had saved Bae Sungjoon from the orangutans spoke.
“I have something I want to ask.”
Kim Tae Hoon had finally made his appearance in Incheon City.
Chapter 59 – Incheon Landing Operation
1.
Amidst the forest of buildings, a woman was carving away at a mangled monster’s chest with her knife.
Pook!
The woman shoved her hand through the monster’s chest without batting an eye, retrieving a red jewel from within. She wiped her hands and the red jewel with a handkerchief and then walked towards a man who was calmly sipping coffee from a thermos.
“Are you perhaps doing that intentionally?”
Kim Yuri asked while also handing Kim Tae Hoon the monster stone.
Gulp!
Ingesting the monster stone as soon as he received it, Kim Tae Hoon raised his eyebrow. He was gesturing for her to explain more clearly.
“Whenever a survivor is about to die at the hands of a monster, you would rescue them when it’s most dire…… are you doing that intentionally?”
Hearing that, Kim Tae Hoon nodded his head.
“Why?"
“It’ll make me look like a savior.”
“Huh?”
“Instead of a random pa.s.serby, they would be more cooperative with their savior."
Kim Tae Hoon tightened the lid on his thermos and walked towards Bae Sung Joon who was currently eating the chocolate bar that Kim Tae Hoon had given him. He was ready to get some answers. As Kim Tae Hoon approached, Bae Sung Joon stood up from his seat.
“Th,thank you. Lee Eunhye……”
“Have you seen this woman?”
Kim Tae Hoon cut off Bae Sung Joon and pulled out a sketch of a woman. It was a well-drawn portrait of a white woman with a cold expression in her mid-twenties.
“Her name is Kate Kennedy.”
Bae Sung Joon stared at the sketch before shaking his head. Hearing that, Kim Tae Hoon didn’t express any sort of disappointment. If it was so easy to find her, Kim Tae Hoon wouldn’t have personally come to Incheon.
‘Will I eventually have to go to Yeongjongdo?’
According to the information that Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Daehyun had given him, Kate Kennedy’s last known location was on Yeongjong Island where Incheon International Airport was located. It was possible that she could still be there. He was asking on the off chance that Kate had left Yeongjong Island with her guards.
So Kim Tae Hoon went straight to the next question.
“Is there a force created by the survivors in Incheon?”
“Yes, yes there is.”
This time he replied back.
“How many survivors?"
"I think it’s just over a thousand…… I don’t know the exact number.”
Over a thousand people.
Listening in on the conversation from behind Kim Tae Hoon, Kim Yuri made a terrible expression.
‘Incheon’s population is close to 3 million……’
Incheon’s population was 2.92 million people. Incheon was pretty big, so it’s population density was lower than that of Bucheon’s. But even taking that into consideration, the fact that the remaining group of survivors was floating around a thousand people was dismal.
Kim Tae Hoon thought the same.
‘The damage is astounding.’
Thinking of the thousand survivors, the words of Messiah’s Leader, Lee Jin Sung, came to mind.
Bucheon’s luck is really good…… Incheon’s already become h.e.l.l…… heed my words.
Everything he said was true. The damage inflicted upon Incheon was so great that Bucheon could not even begin to compare. The enormity of the tragedy wasn’t lost on Kim Tae Hoon.
“Location?"
“Ganseogogeori, the survivors are gathered in Ganseogogeori Station.”
“What is the name of the survivor group?”
“Huh?”
This was the first time Bae Sungjun hesitated to answer. Kim Tae Hoon’s eyes narrowed.
He did not volunteer to be a hero like someone from Marvel Comics. He had put his life on the line to come here. It wasn’t just Kim Tae Hoon’s life either. The lives of those who live under the umbrella known as Kim Tae Hoon are at stake as well.
A complete stranger, if it weren’t for the fact that he had saved his life, Bae Sungjun would have never even bothered telling this stranger anything at all.
“What is the name of the survivor group?”
“Right, so that’s because that……”
Kim Tae Hoon’s gaze changed.
His eyes read ‘if you don’t answer right away, if you further hesitate to answer, then I’m willing to go to any lengths necessary to get an answer’.
“You have three seconds.”
Bae Sungjun stuttered, scared of Kim Tae Hoon.
"Th, that’s not it, they don’t have a name. The survivors are just survivors! They don’t have a name. I’m telling the truth, they don’t have one. In..instead, there is another group of kids calling themselves the Looters. They’re kids who commit crimes……”
Hearing that, a murderous aura came off of Kim Tae Hoon. Because of the information he heard, Kim Tae Hoon was able to more properly draw out the situation in Incheon in his head.
‘It seems like the survivors in Incheon have almost no contact with the outside world.’
If they had contact with outsiders, then they would have named themselves something to distinguish their group from outsiders. The lack of a name meant that they felt there was no need to differentiate themselves.
‘Is it because of Bucheon?"
Looking at the current situation in Incheon, then it was understandable enough. Bucheon was the only city where survivors could work about in areas near Incheon. However, n.o.body in Bucheon would have wanted to go to Incheon. It was the same vice versa. Bucheon blocked access to Incheon, turning it into a sort of isolated state.
‘But while gathering survivors, what happened that two groups would form…… looks like there might be a proper leader in Incheon.’
Another possibility is that there might be a leader in Incheon. No one would ever follow a bad leader in a life-threatening situation.
‘Looters……’
But that didn’t mean that everyone would be of one mind. There were people in Incheon who looted and attacked other humans like monsters would.
‘The survivors known as the Looters, simple.’
Regardless, the situation was clear.
“What’s the situation with weapons for both the survivors and the Looters?”
Kim Tae Hoon continued his questioning in order to get more information. However, a different creature replied instead of Bae Sungjun.
Keuuuuh!
A loud shriek rang out in the distance from where they had come from. It was the cries of other Large Nosed Orangutans that had arrived at the b.l.o.o.d.y corpses of their fellow orangutans. Amongst them were some larger, orange-eyed ones as well.
Keuuuuh!
“Ooh aahk!”
Seeing the Orange-eyed monster, Bae Sungjun fell to the floor. Bae Sungjun was no longer in any condition to answer Kim Tae Hoon’s question. Seeing as how his questioning was interrupted, Kim Tae Hoon frowned. Kim Tae Hoon’s pupils went black.
Swiik!
The arrow in Kim Tae Hoon’s waist moved out in an instant. The arrow sliced through the arrow, aiming right for the noses of the monsters that had so egregiously ruined the master’s mood. It only took a moment for six Large Nosed Orangutans to cease their breathing.
Keuh?
Identifying the arrow, the leader of the Large Nosed Orangutans swiftly dodged to the side to avoid the arrow piercing towards his head, but was still unable to dodge again as the arrow pierced through its throat.
Keuh, Keuhuh, keuhuk!
As the orangutan gasped for breath, the arrow appeared before it, pointing towards its head like a snake.
Paat!
The arrow pierced through the orangutan. The world was once more wrapped in silence.
Staring at the collapsed Bae Sungjun, Kim Tae Hoon asked a question with a calmer tone of voice.
“What weapons do the survivors and the Looters have?”
2.
Ganseogogeori.
As stated in its name, ‘Ogeori’, Ganseogogeori was an area where 5 roads met. At the center of the five roads was the Ganseok High Rise Bridge.
It was a literal high rise bridge.
A road hoisted above a road, a road so high up that it could be called a cloud bridge. Observers would merely be able to look at drivers whizzing by.
That overpa.s.s was now serving as a watchtower. There were men wearing uniforms up on the overpa.s.s, surveying the land with the scopes on their rifles. It was a scene that you wouldn’t have seen in the past. The current scene was completely different from what Ganseogogeori was before. Atop the five roads, vehicles were arranged in such a way as to barricade off monsters. Some places bore the marks of battle, as there were gaps and damages in the line of vehicles. The biggest change was two of the five streets being completely blocked by collapsed buildings.
On top of an empty building, Kim Yuri, who was observing the now Ganseoksamgeori through a pair of binoculars, clicked her tongue.
[TN: Ganseoksamgeori means Ganseok three-way intersection, whereas Ganseogogeori means Ganseok five-way intersection.]
“Their defenses are tighter than I thought.”
As a matter of fact, the survivors successfully settling down in Ganseogogeori was very remarkable. It was amazing for anyone to have survived in the h.e.l.l known as Incheon for three months.
“Seems dangerous just making contact with them sir.”
Approaching these survivors was no different than approaching a wounded beast. Kim Yuri’s judgement was reasonable. However, Kim Tae Hoon’s behavior spoke otherwise.
“Stay here.”
“What?”
“I’ll go meet with their leader by myself.”
Kim Yuri looked at Kim Tae Hoon with an incredulous expression on her face. She couldn’t help but think back to what she had just said.
It’s dangerous to even contact them!
But Kim Tae Hoon paid no heed to her warning.
“There are children.”
What caught Kim Tae Hoon’s attention was the existence of kids running about in Ganseogogeori.
“Just what……”
Kim Yuri didn’t quite understand Kim Tae Hoon’s intention.
‘What does that have to do with it?’
Kim Yuri didn’t understand why he had placed so much worth on the fact that there were kids.
“There are two main reasons why an armed group independent of the government would allow for children.”
Kim Tae Hoon was willing to explain to her his thought process.
“One would be where a group of terrorists plans to brainwash children and scare them into carrying out nefarious acts such as shootings and suicide bombings."
“…… and the other reason?”
"The second would be where some kind-hearted fool risks his life to protect the children and provide for them a safe living s.p.a.ce.”
Kim Yuri’s expression stiffened after listening in on his explanation.
If Kim Tae Hoon’s explanation was correct, then this armed group could be either that of the devil or that of an angel.
“How can we distinguish between the two cases?”
It was certain that Kim Tae Hoon had the necessary knowledge to differentiate between the two.
“Terrorists would usually keep children around the age of 10. With kids over the age of 13, there’s the risk that they might become too independent and use clever means to rebel, while kids under the age of 7 might not be able to listen to commands.”
Kim Yuri didn’t say anything after listening to Kim Tae Hoon’s explanation. Kim Yuri had to keep her mouth shut in order not to exclaim the creeping feeling in her mind.
‘Just what kind of life……’
Her imagination was enough. Even when not speaking, Kim Tae Hoon exuded the scary experiences he had gone through in his life. Kim Tae Hoon did not pay her any more attention. He turned his head and looked at Ganseogogeori. Kim Yuri also turned her head, but nothing stood out.
“What’s going on sir?”
However, Kim Tae Hoon could clearly hear it.
“It’s the Looters."
It was the sound of weapons and other arms approaching Sanseokogeori at a fast pace.
“They have a tank”
“What?”
“It’s a K1A1. There are two of them. .”
And the distinctive sounds of a tank. Hearing what he said, Kim Yuri’s face stiffened.
‘Two tanks…… d.a.m.n it.’
The existence of two tanks meant that those with mere firearms might as well be without weapons.
It would be a nightmare for the survivors of Ganseogogeori. However, it was what Kim Tae Hoon was planning to do that made Kim Yuri worry more. Kim Tae Hoon had said earlier, he deliberately waits and only shows up when the victim is at their direst moments to save them. If that was the case, then it was likely that Kim Tae Hoon would sit on the sidelines while the tanks made a mess of Ganseogogeori. The Kim Tae Hoon that she knew was someone who would stick to their gun, standing on the sidelines while others were in danger.
“Sergeant First Cla.s.s Kim Yuri."
“Yes sir.”
“Let the survivors know that the Looters are coming.”
But this time, things were different.
“Then what is Major……”
Kim Tae Hoon did not answer Kim Yuri’s question. In lieu of replying back, Kim Tae Hoon threw himself off the top of the roof.