Chapter 37: Tangent (2)

His life had been pointless.

He had been born and then abandoned as a child of Moyong clan, a descendant of the orthodox Murim people.

The only reason was that he wasn't versed in martial arts.

As he couldn't stand up to his father's expectations, the chairman, he wandered aimlessly for about 2 years.

It was when he passed the Public Security Bureau exam that things started to change.

He had no ties with the company of Murim anymore.

He wanted to focus on starting a new life and forget everything he experienced in the past.

'Let's live while contributing to justice.'

Life for justice.

A new goal for the lost man.

The Public Security Bureau, which looked after the people's safety, was the perfect home.

He thought that darkness wouldn't reach him as long as he stayed in the Public Security Bureau.

However, all that was nothing but an illusion.

[A guy with no horns sees what he wants to.]

That was what Chun Yeowun said to him when he released the blood points.

As soon as Moyong Lee Myeong realized it, his disappointment reached its peak, and he lost motivation.

He wasn't sure what was right anymore.

This man, the darkness embodiment, had reached out to him.

[I will give you a chance. Come under me. I will give you martial arts and everything you want too.]

If those words came out of someone else's mouth, he would have immediately dismissed it.

But for some reason, this man's words held some weight.

However, for the last time, he wanted to check one thing.

And he just got his answer.

"Kueeek, Pl-please!"

The director Sang Yu-geun's body was getting hurt here and there.

It was the result of nano bomb explosions inside the body, and there was no way he would survive.

The director managed to hold back the pain of four or five explosions, but when the next bomb exploded in a vital place, the pain seemed to grow unbearable.

Sang Yu-geun fell on his knees, begging for his life.

'... in the end, everything is the same.'

The disappointment lingered in Lee Myeong's eyes.

The image of the upright director he held in his imagination was utterly shattered.

The director, who didn't even master martial arts, seemed to have handled the pain a lot better than Neung Do-myung.

"I will cooperate. P-please stop... stop! Stop it!"

In the end, Sang Yu-geun gave up his pride.

At first, he thought that he could accept death.

But that was a mistake.

He realized that he wasn't that strong.

"S-spare me please..."

Snap!

"Kuaaaal!"

A nano bomb exploded inside his left thigh.

For a moment, he wondered if 'that' burst, but when he looked, it was just the thigh.

Sang Yu-geun asked with bewildered eyes.

"I said I would cooperate, so why?"

"I like dogs that behave like dogs."

Shh!

With that, Chun Yeowun tried to snap his fingers again.

Shocked, the director fell flat on the floor and screamed.

"I-I will do anything, please have mercy on me."

"Hmm"

He was being more polite now.

Satisfied, Chun Yeowun stopped his fingers.

"Phew... phew..."

Sang Yu-geun, who was afraid that another nano bomb would explode, breathed out.

Ding-dong!

The elevator opened, and three people were out.

Two men in mobile strike uniform, Baek Jong-so, and Geum Oh-yeon.

They came in with uniforms and helmets on.

"Ouch..."

Alongside Neung Do-myung, who was staggering.

His purpose was to access the elevator.

Baek Jong-so approached Chun Yeowun and said,

"We found it!"

He turned around and pointed to the book his mother was holding.

However, Geum Oh-yeon, who was holding the book with both hands, had a flustered expression.

Despite having the book, she didn't seem relieved.

"Here, this..."

"Is this it?"

Chun Yeowun looked at the title written on the outside of the book.

[Forty. To be fertile for a long age.]

'...'

Baek Jong-so, who didn't see the title of the book, looked down.

Chun Yeowun turned the page without feeling shy.

[24, 32, 94, 83, 13, 52, 63, 103, 26, 49.]

Even without Nano, Chun Yeowun was smart enough to memorize the numbers.

Looking at page 24, there was only one phrase with a number on it.

[Chapter 1. Even when you get older, women need to put in the effort. The first is the skin...]

'1'

Turning to page 32, there was also a number with text in it.

'0'

As he kept following the pages' numbers, he assembled all numbers...

'1052987642'

It wasn't that hard to decode.

Assuming that the numbers Geum Oh-yeon had given him were the right ones.

'This is it?'

Most likely, it was a contact number.

When Chun Yeowun looked at Baek Jong-so, he pointed to the bloody director lying on the floor and Neung Do-myung, who was leaning against the wall.

As the two seemed to have passed out, Chun Yeowun opened his mouth.

"1052987642"

"If it is 10... the area code is 010, Beijing."

The Chinese government used 86 for numbers.

Each city had an area code, and 10 was for Beijing, like Baek Jong-so pointed out.

If so, then Chun Yu-seong was in Beijing.

It was pretty surprising that he used the former capital of the People's Republic of China for his base.

"What should we do?"

At Baek Jong-so's question, Chun Yeowun looked at Geum Oh-yeon.

It would be suitable for her to call the number and talk, but something didn't feel right.

Chun Yeowun looked at Baek Jong-so and asked.

"Can you act moderately?"

"Huh?"

"You just have to say what I tell you."

In the end, Baek Jong-so would be the one talking.

Baek Jong-so made the call with his smartphone.

Since he was given such an important mission, he couldn't wipe off the nervousness from his face, but he knew that he'd do fine as he had already worked as a spy.

Tak!

Chun Yeowun put his finger on the back of the phone.

'Ah?'

Baek Jong-so looked at him curiously, and the call was answered.

Lick!

-If it is a late-night snack, then it has to be Shumai. Sweet and delicious Shumai...

"Oh?"

The only thing he heard was the for a restaurant.

It seemed to be a chain store of Shumai (Chinese dumplings) that he had never heard of.

Baek Jong-so, who thought that he dialed the wrong number, looked at Chun Yeowun.

It was then.

After the recording ended, a human voice came in.

-Hello. This is Ochon Shumai.

Baek Jong-so was flustered at the voice of a woman who seemed to be the owner.

'Wrong number?'

But then he changed his mind.

If he thought about it, it wasn't like the other party could exactly reveal themselves to the world.

And there was no way they would reveal their true identity just because someone called.

'What should I say?'

However, his mother didn't tell him if there was a certain code to give.

As he contemplated, a voice spoke.

-If you are still in menu selection, would you like to call again after a while?

'Damn it! I am lost!'

He had no idea what to do.

"Descendant of Pure Kick Clan, Baek Jong..."

Before he could finish speaking, the call seemed to be cut, and then the tone changed.

Click! Beep! Beep!

Suddenly, the connection cut off, and then a man's voice was heard.

-Who is it?

As the speaker was on, Geum Oh-yeon nodded at the voice.

It was a voice she knew.

Baek Jong-so continued.

"Are you Ko Wang-hyeon?"

-... who are you, and how did you get this number?

He sounded confused.

After thinking, Chun Yeowun told him what to say.

"I am Baek Jong-so, the current head of Pure Kick clan. Based on the numbers in the book 24, 32, 94, 83, 13, 52, 63, 103, 26, 49 that you left for my mother, I called you."

-... and your mother's name?

"It is Geum Oh-yeon."

The person on the other side said nothing.

After about 7 seconds of silence, the voice came again.

-Only your mother knows the number that leads to the phone. And please take it into account that we cannot be revealed.

"I understand."

-We don't have time. So let's talk briefly. Tell me what happened.

Due to some circumstances, it seemed like the man didn't have time to talk.

Baek Jong-so summarized what Chun Yeowun had told him.

"There is a problem. My mother has been arrested by the Public Security Bureau."

-What?

"Fortunately, I rescued my mother through the chaos of the Gate opening in Shenyang."

-Sigh....

The voice of general manager Ko Wang-hyeon seemed shocked.

It seemed like the situation was more serious than he expected.

After a while, the man said,

-... If I could, I would help you. I don't know if your mother has heard of it or not, but Pure Kick clan, we are currently severing ties with it, no, the cult.

'Tch.'

Baek Jong-so frowned.

Although he was acting, he didn't expect such a situation to pop up. He thought that they would come and rescue a member of the cult.

Of course, he knew that they could abandon them too.

"General manager Ko. The situation on our side isn't good. If you help me this time, I will support Chun Yu-seong as the head of Pure Kick Clan."

He threw the bait.

A declaration of support from his clan, one of the top twelve clans.

It doesn't matter how much they wanted to severe it. They left a contact number because they had hope.

And the response came.

-... does your mother agree?

"My mother had suffered a lot when she was detained by the Bureau. She isn't well, but she will agree with what I decide."

Now, all that was left was for them to take the bait.

As he was holding his breath, Ko Wang-hyeon's voice came.

-Such a difficult situation. How can we pretend not to care for a member when they are in such a crisis? As soon as the Gate Warning is lifted in Shenyang, the cult will dispatch its members.

He changed his words.

Baek Jong-so shook his head with a disappointed face.

But his voice didn't show it.

"Thank you!"

-Thank you. If this is your contact number... hmm. Time is up. Tracking attempts still continue. We will contact you.

Click!

The man hastily hung up the phone.

"Tracking?"

Baek Jong-so was puzzled, but Chun Yeowun took off his finger with an upset expression.

[Failed to track.]

Chun Yeowun was the one who tried to find the place.

Nano tried to track the place of the call, but couldn't because the number kept changing.

Another 10 more seconds and he could have dug up the detour and found it, but it failed as the other side noticed it.

'Well, we made a tangent to the side.'

And once the Gate Warning would be lifted, they would meet.

Chun Yeowun looked forward to that moment.

Drrrr!

At that moment.

He heard a vibrating sound somewhere.

It was coming from the director's phone.

The number appeared on the screen.

"It is the traffic and situation control room. Probably calling for him"

Lee Myeong said as he recognized it right away.

In such regard, it was helpful that he was the team leader of the violent crimes unit in the Bureau.

"Wake him."

"yes."

At the command, Baek Jong-so removed the blood points seal.

Tatatak!

Once done, the director looked around with blank eyes.

And then his face darkened.

Like a person who just realized that what he hoped to be a dream was actually a reality.

Looking at him, Chun Yeowun said,

"Go back and do what you normally do. Fix everything that happened till now."

'Tch. This one... acting like he is the boss.'

At the commanding attitude, Sang Yu-geun grunted.

If it wasn't for the nano bombs, things wouldn't have turned this way.

Then something suddenly popped into his mind.

'Right. Currently the technological side is making a device to disarm the nano bombs.'

It wouldn't take long since he already had the codes from a former MS researcher.

When he remembered that, his heart lightened.

He couldn't do anything now, so he would pretend to follow the man, and once he'd get rid of the nano bombs, he would pay the man tenfold back.

"Understood."

"And don't interfere in Murim matters."

"I will make sure not to."

"I will contact you if I need anything."

"... Alright."

Chun Yeowun looked at the man as he answered obediently.

Baek Jong-so, who watched him go up the elevator, said.

"He is more docile than I thought."

Chun Yeowun laughed and said.

"We'll see."

Someone then intervened.

"I think it is better to leave once we are done with things here."

It was Lee Myeong.

He didn't want to be in the bureau building anymore.

He was still in a state where he was trying to come to terms with the overwhelming disappointment.

"We don't know how long the Gate Warning will last, and how long the special task force building will be empty, so we need to get out of here quickly..."

"Wait. Before that, I need to do something."

Chun Yeowun went somewhere.

It was the prison that had shutters down.

Ssshh! Kiiik!

As Chun Yeowun pretended to raise his hands upwards, the shutter, which was lowered, began to rise.

"Hmm."

Geum Oh-yeon looked at it.

Inside the pirson, was an unidentified human, covered in blood and traces of torture, with shackles and gears on his arms and ankles.

"Ahh..."

Baek Jong-so nodded his head.

Seeing the shutter's thickness, it seemed to be soundproofed. But, just in case, it was better to clear anything that could lead to them.

"I'll do it."

Baek Jong-so, who decided that it wasn't something Chun Yeowun had to do, approached him.

There was no reason to do it, but unnecessary problems would arise if the man did overhear what happened and released it out.

Tak!

Baek Jong-so grabbed his neck.

He decided to clench the neck and give a painless death.

But the moment he tried to grab the neck, the man in shackles groaned.

"eup eup eup!"

It was weird.

He wasn't begging for his life or rebelling.

It was like he wanted to say something.

'What is it... huh?'

Baek Jong-so's eyes shook as he looked at the face.

Baek Jong-so took away the things that were on the man's face.

"Ah!"

"What is it?"

Chun Yeowun asked.

"He is an employee of that store that sells the masks."