Free Web NovelThere were estimated to be, at most, twenty people hiding in the underground facility beneath the substation.
Who they were and what kind of people they were wasn’t the pressing issue right now.
"Clear."
I landed on the ground.
A tunnel had been constructed quite deep below.
The layout wasn’t detailed on the schematics, but it likely served as an emergency shelter in times of crisis.
Park Hae-min and the soldiers were scanning the surroundings.
Other than the faint light trickling down from above, there was nothing. You couldn’t see anything with the naked eye.
Clang—
At Ha Tae-hoon’s command, a few soldiers turned on their lanterns.
Something scurried along the wall.
Bugs.
They didn’t make a sound, but Go Hee-seol visibly flinched at the sight.
"!!"
Ha Tae-hoon checked the map on his phone and issued instructions to the soldiers.
They pressed themselves against the walls.
They became one with the darkness. Time had filled in many of the cracks, making them barely noticeable, but there were faint gaps.
Ha Tae-hoon gently pushed against a door, then shook his head.
"We’re gonna need some force."
He attempted to communicate.
"When you hear an explosion, move in. Until then, mask up."
Since the enemy had used chemical weapons, we had to respond accordingly.
I really didn’t want to wear it, but I put on the gas mask and layered a poncho over it.
It wouldn’t completely block nerve gas, but it’d buy enough time to butcher anyone spraying it in front of me.
Not long after, the sound of mortars exploded nearby.
With a rumble and a blast, the soldiers kicked the door open.
Bang!
The corridor was revealed.
There was light.
Power supplied from a generator illuminated the concrete corridor buried underground.
No one could be seen beyond the fairly long corridor.
They didn’t know about this passage.
We advanced quickly.
"Stop."
The path split in two directions.
One likely led to an external tunnel, the other to the living quarters.
You could feel traces of habitation everywhere.
Soon, the main corridor appeared.
The underground facility connected to the tunnel was structured with a wide, straight corridor lined with several rooms.
A simple structure. Cheap to build and easy to maintain.
The problem was, once it was taken over, a few could hold the leash on the many.
While some soldiers set up Claymores and mines near the corner leading to the exit, the rest mounted machine guns at the far end of the main corridor.
The operation ended with only a few basic tasks.
Checkmate.
There would be some losses during the sweep, but the outcome was already set.
I saw the many doors along the corridor.
"What’s that sound? Is someone out there?"
From one of them, a man’s voice shouted out.
True to its makeshift nature, there was barely any security.
No internal security systems like CCTV.
"Who the hell are you?"
So, shouting with your own voice seemed to be their only security policy.
A man inside the room tried to come out.
The soldiers all looked at Ha Tae-hoon.
Ha Tae-hoon gave a slight nod and replied.
"Let’s begin."
The action was swift.
Tatatatang!
Gunfire rang out.
There were no warnings, no threats, no declarations of intent.
Not even a will to kill.
"Clear."
It was simply the removal of obstacles.
No moral judgment involved in the process.
Upon hearing the gunshots, other doors opened and people inside ran out—
Tatatatatatata!
Tatatatata!
Not one, but two 7.62mm machine guns had been mounted.
Some dropped lifelessly the moment they stepped out, as if shredded by a chainsaw. Some were lucky enough to hastily slam the door shut and burrow back inside like moles.
"They’re here! They’ve come inside!"
We didn’t just hear their voices.
Chzzzzzz—
"I don’t know how, but they’ve infiltrated and taken control of the corridor."
"How many came in?"
"Can’t tell. We need backup, fast."
"We’re in a standoff here, but I’ll send a few. Respond when we arrive."
"Got it."
We were even intercepting their radio transmissions.
They tried using private frequencies to avoid being tapped, but in front of a military unit with a communication specialist, such thin veils hid nothing.
Moments later—
Boom! Boom!
Explosions burst from the entrance.
The Claymores we planted must’ve claimed several lives.
Watching their rescue attempt crumble instantly, Ha Tae-hoon turned coldly toward the corridor.
"You have no chance. Surrender. From now on, we will take your surrender room by room from the entrance. Do not come out without permission. You come out when we tell you to."
You couldn’t even call this a battle.
It was a one-sided difference in power, and that power gap showed plainly in the results.
Ha Tae-hoon led the troops and began searching from the front.
There was a sensory Awakened under Ha Tae-hoon as well.
"Two."
When a man with a grim face whispered, Ha Tae-hoon nodded and said in a cold voice,
"The two of you in there. Will you surrender, or die there? You have ten seconds."
I counted silently.
By the fifth count, a panicked voice emerged from inside.
"Surrender! We surrender! We’ll surrender!"
The door opened, and a magazine was tossed out, followed by firearms.
Then men with their hands up slowly stepped out.
They were wrapped in blood-stained bandages.
Watching that, I felt a bit doubtful.
Even if the goal was to sweep, the battle wasn’t over yet, and the rear wasn’t secured. Was it really right to take prisoners?
According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war must be treated humanely and massacres are prohibited—but in actual combat, unless you have excess capacity, you don’t make prisoners.
Dead enemies are easier to manage and come with no future risk.
In my case, I didn’t take prisoners.
I just disarmed them, rounded them up, and handed them over to the Chinese reinforcements.
What happened after that wasn’t my concern—but I had a pretty good idea.
They were probably all killed.
Ha Tae-hoon had been on the same battlefield.
And yet he was taking prisoners now?
As I mulled over that minor question, I saw Ha Tae-hoon signal to the soldiers.
Two soldiers moved behind the men and suddenly covered their mouths, firing suppressed pistols.
Pik! Pik!
Two corpses fell.
The soldiers swiftly dragged the bodies and shoved them back into the first room, and Ha Tae-hoon walked to the next door.
"Next."
He was definitely from the academy and truly my senior.
Our upper class was more brutal and knew no bounds.
That’s why starting with our cohort, education on the Geneva Convention and war crimes was suddenly introduced, and when dispatched to China, Korean-speaking officers were assigned to monitor us.
"You’ve got ten seconds. Step out quickly."
From the second room, a man came out.
Another silent execution followed.
Starting with the third room, Ha Tae-hoon didn’t even handle it himself.
Another officer continued the sweep while Ha Tae-hoon walked over to me.
"They say the monster isn’t here."
He glanced briefly at Cheon Young-jae as he spoke.
"Tch."
Cheon Young-jae looked displeased, then turned to me.
"It’s not here. But isn’t there one more floor below?"
Ha Tae-hoon nodded.
That was when it happened.
From one of the rooms, someone suddenly shouted.
"Young-hoon! Young-hoon!"
Looks like someone figured it out.
"Young-hoon! Are you alive? Say something if you’re alive!"
A soldier kicked the door, and another tossed a grenade in.
Boom!
The full-scale sweep began.
Tatatatatang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom!
Gunfire erupted in every direction and machine guns roared.
"You sons of bitches! You fucking bastards!"
"Surrender! Surrender! Aaaagh!"
Nothing had changed.
It had simply shifted from orderly execution to indiscriminate slaughter.
That’s when I saw one of the Kang Han-min kids.
I couldn’t see his expression behind the gas mask, but his demeanor showed his inner state.
Only Park Hae-min remained calm—everyone else looked sickened or shaken.
This was probably their first time on such a filthy operation.
And truthfully, this wasn’t even our Hunter unit’s job.
"There’s a monster down there."
As the sweep neared its end, Ha Tae-hoon approached us again.
"There are seven people. One is with the monster. The rest are outside. Probably..."
He nodded.
The last holdouts, most likely.
The toughest and nastiest part.
"I’ll take the lead."
Even after witnessing that grim hellscape, Park Hae-min cheerfully stepped forward.
"Wait."
I blocked him.
Park Hae-min looked like he was about to protest.
"Is there a problem?"
"It’s not that I don’t trust you."
I looked him straight in the eyes as I replied.
Then I stepped forward.
It’s a world that ignores ancient wisdom, but that doesn’t mean we should devalue their insight.
A cornered rat will bite the cat.
That’s true.
But let me add one more thing.
A quiet rat is more dangerous.
Even knowing full well that a massacre was unfolding above, there had been no movement from the floor below.
I entered the downward ramp.
The concrete was unfinished—rough surfaces jutted out like unshaved stone.
From the abandoned tools and carts, it looked like construction had been halted midway.
What I was looking for wasn’t a person.
It was an object.
I gave the stop signal.
In the darkness, I spotted the faint glint of a tripwire.
A grenade had been wired to it as a booby trap.
Clearly improvised, probably made after they realized we were entering from above.
If it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have spotted it so easily.
But it was enough to rip off the leg or life of someone confident like Park Hae-min.
As I cut the tripwire, I could feel Park Hae-min’s gaze.
Aside from kleptomania and gambling, he’s not a bad guy.
Through the lens of his gas mask, his eyes gleamed with genuine admiration.
"That’s amazing, Captain."
It’s rare for specialists in a field to show such honesty.
Even I refused to acknowledge Kang Han-min and ran off on my own, didn’t I?
"That could’ve been really bad."
I didn’t respond. I searched for the next trap.
Couldn’t see anything.
I moved forward.
It was pitch dark—maybe the lights had been deliberately turned off.
Cheon Young-jae whispered to me.
"They’re hiding. Stay spread out."
Normally, we’d take cover too.
But we have an Awakened.
Park Hae-min walked forward slowly.
I called out from behind.
"Be careful."
Park Hae-min grinned and kept walking.
A rush of movement stirred in the dark.
An enemy emerged from ambush, raising a gun.
But—
Thud!
The harsh pulse that once brought us despair now echoed with a different meaning.
A soundless field bloomed, and the result followed.
Thump—
A body collapsed in the dark, hit by its own bullet.
That’s what an Awakened does.
"..."
A monster.
"That was an Awakened."
The traps alone had suggested it—but our enemy wasn’t some rabble we’d massacred upstairs.
Every group had its elite warriors.
These were this group’s fighters.
Srrng—
A blade was unsheathed in the dark.
The sound of a pistol being loaded followed—it seemed they were preparing for both close and mid-range combat.
They probably had experience fighting Awakened.
I quietly sped up and stood beside Park Hae-min.
"Will you be okay?"
He was worried about me getting hurt by the shockwave from close range.
"I’ll be fine. I’ve withstood far worse than you."
Park Hae-min chuckled.
"True."
We moved forward together.
I wasn’t looking to take risks, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) but this seemed like the cleanest option.
With countless allies behind us watching, I took one step after another into the darkness.
We knew where the enemy was.
One man charged with a machete.
Park Hae-min met him head-on with his sword.
Chankang!
Good force.
But the enemy was seasoned and, more importantly, knew how to hunt.
The next opponent didn’t wield a bladed weapon.
It was a sasumata—those giant tongs used by Japanese police.
I’d seen Chinese soldiers and police use them too.
With the pure physical strength of two grown men pushing with that thing, even a skilled fighter would be subdued.
It wasn’t lethal, but specialized for suppression.
And they’d embedded sharp spikes into it.
If your body got caught in that clamp and pure brute strength was poured in—it’d be hopeless.
One of those flew out from the darkness, aimed at Park Hae-min.
A sasumata from point-blank range.
Tough to react in time.
Not a bad tactic.
Capturing a Regular Awakened might give them leverage in negotiation.
Park Hae-min’s face was filled with unmistakable shock.
I threw my axe.
Bathed in dim light, the merciless tool arced slowly and slammed into the head of the man wielding the sasumata.
Thud!
As I heard the blunt impact, another sasumata flew toward me.
I swung my axe.
Thunk!
I struck it in one blow.
It slammed to the ground like a broken flower.
Before it could rise—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I finished it off with my pistol.
Srrng—
A sword glinted from the darkness.
It belonged to a man who had remained hidden until now.
A sharp attack.
But—
Crack!
I had more experience.
As his body collapsed from an axe strike to the neck, I caught it and shouted at Park Hae-min.
"Field!"
Thud!
Park Hae-min deployed a repulsion field. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Tatatatatata!
Perfect timing.
Judging by the sound of someone collapsing right after the gunfire, it worked.
"...I surrender."
I aimed at where the voice came from—where I guessed his heart would be.
Bang!
All enemies were down.
"There’s one more person with the monster in that room."
Lights came on.
Park Hae-min stood awkwardly, looking at me in confusion.
"Why?"
He asked.
"You're incredible. I mean it, but that guy just now..."
"Don’t accept the surrender of someone with nothing to lose."
"Are you saying suicide bombing?"
"Could be. Or not. Or maybe it’s something that’ll happen far in the future."
We entered the room with the monster.
It was a garage.
Inside were the gray-white monster we’d seen in blurry photos—and an old woman waiting for us.
I took off my gas mask and looked at the monster.
"..."
No movement. No response.
"...She was taken."
The fear on Park Hae-min’s face, visible after removing his own mask, confirmed my suspicion.
The monster wasn’t a threat.
The problem was—
"No! No! You bastards! That’s my son! He’s my only son!"
She must be another one with nothing left.
I aimed my gun.
It was an uncomfortable job.
But I wouldn’t make excuses and say it was necessary.
It was the mission.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out from behind.
I turned.
Ha Tae-hoon sighed and gave me a weak, familiar look, nodding.
"...I’ll handle the dirty work."
I looked at the monster.
Around its neck—if it could be called that—was a frame.
Inside it, a photo of a kind-looking young man about Park Hae-min’s age, smiling wide.
"..."
Another mission.
I raised my weapon again.
*
The operation ended in success.
One minor injury.
Not even from gunfire—just a sprained ankle.
Pyo Won-sang said he was interrogating a captured enemy and would report the results soon.
For the first time in a while, I showered and drank synthetic coffee inside our train car.
Park Hae-min appeared.
"Captain."
"Yeah."
I offered a few compliments.
He really was a remarkable guy.
Capable.
Promising.
If only he could fix that one vice.
As he drank coffee beside me, he glanced at me.
"What?"
I asked casually.
"Ah, I heard the captain is, how should I put it... like a robot? That you don’t really get mad easily. That time, when you told me..."
"Did you know I lost my family in an accident?"
"Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"When I lost my parents and sister and was left alone, strangers kept coming into the house, saying they were there to take care of things. And a few things went missing."
That’s as far as I went.
I met Park Hae-min’s eyes.
No need to say more.
"...I see."
Nodding, the half-formed man quietly stepped away.
"I’ll do my best!"
Woo Min-hee, who had been watching, looked at her face in a hand mirror and asked,
"What do you think? Think he can be fixed?"
"Who knows."
"Why? You just complimented him. What don’t you like now, huh? You jerk."
Why is she acting cute again?
Does she not realize her age?
She’s not truly young at heart like I am.
I sighed and answered.
"If he’s really elite, he’ll overcome it."
There are many factors that create an elite, but the way I define it requires one more condition.
Let me end this story with a quote from my mentor, Jang Ki-young.
"Those of us who stand on the line of death do not make excuses."
I hope he never makes one.
