Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

The car began moving slowly toward the capital.

From Kabul Airport to the city center, about twenty minutes of desert road lay ahead.

“Igor, have you met Ahmad yet?”

Igor, who was watching the surroundings through the window, answered,

“Yes. I met him as soon as I arrived.”

“How is he?”

“Hmm... it’s hard to read him.”

“Can you talk to him? I heard he doesn’t speak any English. How about Russian?”

“He’s not fluent, but he can manage conversations in Russian. We were able to talk without much difficulty.”

Good. I’d been worried I’d need an interpreter.

Looking out the window at the land turned to desert, I said,

“Even near the capital, it’s all wasteland.”

“It’s not just here—Kabul city is no better.”

In the distance, the Hindu Kush Mountains loomed majestically.

Kabul—the capital of Afghanistan, situated on the high plateau of the Hindu Kush—was once a vital city linking Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

But after consecutive invasions by Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, its former glory had vanished, and the country was left in ruins.

With a bitter smile, I asked,

“Did you find out why he wants to meet me?”

“It seems no one but Ahmad himself knows. He hasn’t told anyone—not even his security team.”

“He didn’t tell his guards? What on earth could be so secret that he’d request a meeting himself...”

We continued talking about the current state of Kabul and Ahmad’s recent movements when, suddenly, a deafening explosion rang out.

KWAANG!

The sudden blast made the driver slam the brakes, throwing us forward in our seats.

“What the hell! What’s going on!”

I shouted, bracing myself against the jolt. Igor quickly scanned the surroundings and reported,

“Boss, it looks like an ambush.”

Through the windshield, I saw the lead armored vehicle flipped over, black smoke pouring from it.

“The front vehicle hit an explosive. Keep your head down and don’t move, Boss!”

Igor barked the order and immediately began shouting commands over the radio.

‘What the hell? Who’s behind this? Was this meeting a trap? No... Ahmad has no reason to kill me.’

My thoughts scattered when a series of explosions followed one after another.

Igor grabbed a weapon and muttered grimly,

“They’ve even got RPGs... they came prepared. Boss, get out of the—”

Before he could finish, a «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» violent shock rocked the SUV. The vehicle shuddered as if struck by a hammer.

Gunfire and explosions thundered from every direction, deafeningly loud.

The chaos made it hard to think; my heart pounded uncontrollably, breath coming short.

But Manager Ma and Igor remained calm.

Igor turned, opening the trunk from inside and pulling out weapons.

He handed automatic rifles and other firearms to Manager Ma.

“Boss, we need to get out. If we stay here, another RPG will finish us.”

Get out? Honestly, I was terrified.

The ground was shaking, screams and gunfire filled the air—it was a living nightmare.

But there was no time to hesitate. I held out my hand to Igor.

“Give me a weapon.”

“Boss—”

“Just in case. Give it to me. I know how to use it.”

Another explosion erupted ahead—the second escort vehicle went up in flames, taking several mercenaries with it.

Cold sweat ran down my palms as fear clawed up my spine.

I gripped the rifle Igor handed me tightly.

“All right, let’s move. I’m not dying here.”

Manager Ma opened the door, checked the outside, and gave a nod.

I followed him out, Igor coming last.

Once outside, the situation looked even worse. I never imagined I’d see a real battlefield with my own eyes.

Igor spotted the fallen enemy and spoke quickly.

“Looks like Taliban or Al-Qaeda.”

I let out a short sigh.

Now that the feared reality was before me, I grew strangely calm.

I began analyzing the situation as fast as I could.

Thankfully, the armored vehicle was still intact.

Igor signaled for us to move toward it, and he and Manager Ma shielded me as we advanced slowly.

It wasn’t far—but it felt like an eternity.

Then, suddenly, bullets struck the ground near our feet. Gunfire erupted again, wild and indiscriminate.

“Run!”

Igor shouted, pushing me toward the armored car while firing back.

Manager Ma grabbed me as I stumbled, and we sprinted for cover.

“Ha...”

Only after reaching the armored vehicle did I let out a shaky breath.

Igor arrived right after.

“Sorry, Boss. I panicked.”

“It’s fine. Focus on the fight.”

Igor reassured me that even an RPG-7 couldn’t pierce a modern American APC, but my heart still wouldn’t slow down.

He turned to another mercenary.

“Enemy position?”

“Forty-five degrees, seventy meters ahead on that ridge. Around fifty men.”

Igor radioed the U.S. base nearby.

When word came back that support units were already on their way, I finally felt a bit of relief.

“Backup will arrive soon.”

He should have been directing the battle, but he refused to leave my side.

Seeing that, Manager Ma spoke in a lower tone than usual.

“Igor, I’ll protect the Boss. Go lead your men.”

Igor nodded and moved to take command.

Manager Ma leaned out from behind the armored car and started firing.

Watching his back, I tried to grasp the whole situation.

Despite the surprise attack, Igor’s mercenaries were holding their ground well.

With Igor now commanding, the counterattack began in earnest.

One of the armored vehicles advanced slowly while four mercenaries followed behind it.

The enemy’s aim was sloppy—their shots went wide.

Probably untrained guerillas rather than a disciplined force.

The tide was slowly turning in our favor.

When the machine gun mounted on the APC started roaring, the incoming bullets thinned dramatically.

Then Manager Ma turned toward me abruptly.

“You okay?”

Blood was trickling from his ear.

“I’m fine. Just grazed.”

Despite his words, his face looked almost exhilarated—he might have even been smiling. The sight made me laugh despite the situation.

“You really belong on the battlefield, Chief. Don’t worry about me—go wild.”

But he shook his head.

“No, Boss. Your safety comes first.”

“I think we’re fine here for now...”

“No, sir.”

Seeing his resolute face, I didn’t press further and just nodded.

“All right. Move when the reinforcements arrive, then.”

Our armored vehicle stopped midway between us and the enemy on the ridge.

Igor shouted orders, coordinating the mercenaries’ advance. The gunfire from the ridge began to die down.

And then I saw them—U.S. soldiers rushing toward us in the distance.

“Ha... we’re saved.”

I leaned back against the APC, a faint laugh escaping me. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Manager Ma’s eyes showed the same relief. No wonder he’d been on edge—after Pyongyang, now Afghanistan.

“The enemies on the ridge are retreating.”

Manager Ma watched as the attackers jumped into their vehicles and fled after spotting the U.S. troops.

Igor’s men didn’t chase—they stayed to protect me—but half the U.S. soldiers pursued while the other half came our way.

Armed soldiers surrounded us, scanning the perimeter.

“Who’s in charge here?”

A middle-aged man called out. Igor stepped forward.

“I am.”

“What the hell happened?”

“We were escorting a VIP when we came under attack. Our guest is a visitor of Ahmad Shah Massoud.”

“Hmm. I haven’t received any report about that...”

Seeing the man’s skeptical look, Igor replied,

“Check your channels. We’re from Black Bear.”

“I can tell from your uniforms. Who’s the VIP? Takes some guts to come to a warzone like this.”

I walked up beside Igor.

“That would be me. Charlie.”

I held out my hand. The officer didn’t take it.

“Michael Bradley.”

After introducing himself, Michael looked me over the same way he had Igor—up and down, coldly.

“An Asian, huh... Where are you from?”

“Korea.”

“Korea? What brings you here?”

Just then, static crackled from Michael’s radio. He picked it up.

“Lieutenant Michael speaking.”

— This is HQ. Report the situation.

“Engagement over. Enemy retreating, pursuit underway.”

— Ah, Lieutenant Michael. It’s Colonel Seth.

“Sir!”

— At ease. Now, is a man named Charlie there? Is he safe?

Michael glanced at me and replied,

“Yes, sir. He’s safe.”

— Good. Escort him to base immediately. His safety is top priority, understood?

“Pardon, sir?”

— You didn’t hear me?

“N-no, sir.”

— I’ll repeat myself. Escort the man named Charlie with full respect to the base. Understood?

“Yes, sir!”

The transmission ended, and Michael turned to me.

“You heard that, right?”

I nodded. His tone was still stiff, but his demeanor had grown noticeably more courteous.

“Then let’s move together.”

The SUV I’d been riding in was shredded with bullet holes—barely more than scrap metal now.

Even with armor plating, it was in tatters after the barrage.

It was clear that if I’d stayed inside, I wouldn’t be alive.

That wrecked car was a perfect snapshot of the chaos we’d just survived.

Riding with Michael, we drove about ten minutes to the U.S. base.

Overlooking Kabul, it stood like its own little kingdom.

Inside the barracks, it felt like a different world entirely.

Though only a tent, it was cooled by air conditioning, equipped with a fridge and electrical appliances—hard to tell if this was Afghanistan or America.

“Welcome. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Seth Moses.”

The man introduced as Seth extended his hand.

“Charlie Kim. Pleasure to meet you.”

I shook it.

“I’m glad you’re unharmed.”

After the handshake, we sat down.

An aide brought in two glasses of iced coffee.

Enjoying this kind of luxury in a warzone—it said everything about how much money the U.S. was pouring into this war.

“You must be shaken. Take a moment, have some coffee.”

“Thank you.”

I drank the cold coffee, forcing myself to relax.

After a long pause, Seth finished his cup and spoke.

“The attackers were remnants of the Taliban.”

“Really?”

Just as Igor had said.

But how had they known I’d be passing through here at this time?

Only the Afghan government, the U.S. military, and Russia knew my schedule.

Russia was my ally. The U.S. had no reason to target me.

If they’d wanted me dead, they could’ve staged an ‘accident’ easily in a place like Afghanistan.

That left only one possibility: the leak came from within the Afghan government—probably from Ahmad’s rival faction.

“It’s likely that anti-Ahmad forces inside Afghanistan passed the information to the Taliban.”

“...”

Exactly what I’d been thinking.

I set down my cup and asked,

“Why are you telling me this?”

Seth smiled.