Chapter 199.2: Is There Anything Else You’re Hiding? (2)
Fuck!
Kang Chan was at a loss for words.
After this rock shoved him into some random stranger’s body, it was now trying to kill him because some people wanted to control the power it possessed.
“Mr. Kang Chan!” Lanok called out. It sounded a lot more prolonged to Kang Chan, though. The way he heard it made him think of a stretched-out cassette tape being played in slow motion.
Hufffff. Hufffff.
Everything is moving so slowly!
Kang Chan looked as far above him as his eyes would let him. He then gazed past the helmet.
Unfortunately, that didn’t change anything. His surroundings were still wrapped in a blackish-red color, and the wavelengths, which were as thick as the cable that was connected to Kang Chan, were still coursing toward him.
So this was how the Blackhead tried to connect to me! Good think I shot it with my pistol a couple of times back then! I can’t do that right now, though. I have to pull the cable toward me. Since it’s connected to the right side of my waist, I can just fall on it, can’t I?
He could still hear the conversation between Lanok and the researchers, but their words sounded slurred to him.
What would Seok Kang-Ho say if I died sitting like this?
That fucker would definitely run over here and shoot everything that moves. If he couldn’t get his hands on a gun, he would just bring a knife instead.
Well, an explosion will devour this area before he even gets the chance to do that.
Kang Chan tried to lean to the right but soon realized that he didn’t even have the strength to do that.
The blackish-red lines were becoming thicker and thicker, and the speakers were still blaring out the bullshit warning about everyone having to vacate the premises immediately. Kang Chan found it unfortunate that the recording of the female voice would never get tired.
If I die here, will I just reincarnate somewhere else again? Well, if I die now and get sent to hell, that place will definitely be in chaos for a bit. The people I killed, including Jang Kwang-Taek, Yang Jin-woo, and everyone else in Africa, will definitely pounce on me.
Kang Chan smirked. He would have Choi Seong-Geon and a few other soldiers helping him, at least.
With all his strength now gone, he felt as if his soul was the only thing left in his body.
‘I’m so happy today that I no longer envy anyone in this world.’
‘Channy! Should we ask your father to buy us dinner?’
‘Channy thanked me!’
‘My son loves me so much!’
The edges of Kang Chan’s lips curved into a faint smile.
Hey, Blackhead! You don’t have a mom, do you?
You know, just thinking about my mom is enough to make me tear up. Strangely, it’s also giving me strength now.
Kang Chan tilted to the right and gradually fell down to his side.
Swish. Click! Bang!
The blackish-red rays scattered in all directions.
***
The expressions of National Intelligence Service Director Hwang Ki-Hyun, Presidential Security Chief Officer Jeon Dae-Geuk, and NIS Special Support Division Manager Kim Hyung-Jung all darkened.
“Prosecutor-General Kim Seong-Woong has assigned an additional prosecutor to investigate the case. He’s under Huh Ha-Soo, so the moment he feels like foreign countries are putting external pressure on him, he will immediately manipulate the media,” Kim Hyung-Jung said.
“What if we use Mr. Kang Chan’s criminal immunity to prevent them from investigating it?”
“The dates won’t match up if they tell us to release our records. More importantly…” Kim Hyung-Jung trailed off in the middle of his sentence.
“There’s no way the President will tolerate that. In case you forgot, he was willing to hand over his position to our enemies despite knowing how important it is just to stay true to his principle of keeping his political career clean of corruption,” Hwang Ki-Hyun continued on Kim Hyung-Jung’s behalf.
Jeon Dae-Geuk groaned
“The hotel’s CCTV footage captured Mr. Kang Chan’s face quite clearly, and Park Ki-Bum of the parking lot gang has already finished giving his testimony. With how things are going right now, the best we can hope for would be for Mr. Kang Chan to receive a special pardon after being found guilty through a trial,” Kim Hyung-Jung added. “His fight in Yongin and meeting with the Oh Gwang-Taek and the big shots of Busan and Honam at the hotel have also been caught on record. There’s so much evidence that proving his innocence is becoming difficult.”
“Can’t we use his distinguished services in the operations he completed?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“I doubt they’ll believe that a high schooler did all of that.”
“What about what he did in the presentation hall?” Jeon Dae-Geuk tried another angle.
“We don’t have proof that Mr. Kang Chan played an active role in dealing with that incident either,” Kim Hyung-Jung countered.
Jeon Dae-Geuk glanced at Hwang Ki-Hyun, who just listened to them.
“We still have time until Kang Chan returns to South Korea. Fortunately, there are no records of him departing, so they can’t request cooperation from France. For now, let’s try our best to stop this case from being reported on the news. We can come up with a solution for this once we’ve contained the situation,” Hwang Ki-Hyun said, finally joining the conversation again.
“Shouldn’t we at least arrange a meeting with Oh Gwang-Taek, Director?” Jeon Dae-Geuk asked.
“Doing that now would be dangerous. If we make even just one mistake, they could shift all the blame to the President. Our safest option right now is to conduct a media blackout before looking for a way out of this.”
“I’ll do my best to stop this from reaching Mr. Kang Chan as well,” Kim Hyung-Jung wondered.
“You absolutely shouldn’t tell him.”
“I know. That’s why I’m pretending as if I don’t know anything about this when I’m around Mr. Seok Kang-Ho.”
“Isn’t there a way out of this? I feel like we’re overlooking a better way to handle this,” Jeon Dae-Geuk stroked his chin as he tried to let go of his frustration.
***
Opening his eyes, the first thing Kang Chan saw was Lanok, who was quite worried about him.
“You feeling better?” Lanok asked. It was almost admirable that he could look so calm during a moment like this.
“What about the explosion?” Kang Chan immediately asked.
“The machine has stabilized again. They said that they still can’t guarantee how long it will stay this way, though.”
Lanok followed Kang Chan’s gaze, then lowered his head. “I didn’t expect that red ray to be so strong.”
He raised his right hand and showed it to Kang Chan. It was wrapped in bandages. “The part of the floor that you were sitting on earlier almost melted. If we stalled any longer, you would have fallen all the way to the bottom.”
“The machine could generate heat?”
Lanok nodded.
“We’re heading back to France for now,” he said. “They installed a temporary shield in this place, but it’s not enough to reassure us or make us feel relieved. After all, for as long as we’re around, we won’t know when the red rays are going to close in on us again.”
After a short while, Lanok issued orders to the agents guarding the entrance of the room with their hands clasped in front of them. In response, they immediately carried out his instructions.
A stretcher was soon brought inside. Unlike ordinary stretchers, this one was covered with a clear film wrap similar to the ones used for cakes sold in individual pieces.
“I was told that putting you in there will prevent the energy from reaching you,” Lanok explained. He seemed just as speechless as Kang Chan.
The agents lifted the mattress Kang Chan was laying on and moved him to the stretcher. They then covered him with the clear film wrap, which made him feel awful, and wheeled him out of the building.
Damn it! I can’t believe this! I feel like I’m running away from a complete defeat!
He couldn’t even shoot the machine and fight back this time. To make matters worse, he was still wearing an ugly spacesuit.
Kang Chan felt as if they were conducting the perfect medevac.
The agents lifted Kang Chan’s bed onto the back of an ambulance. Lanok and an agent then sat next to him.
After some time, Ethan finally came over to see them.
“Lanok! Please do it for me!” Ethan yelled.
Kang Chan thought that Ethan was asking Lanok to take good care of him, but Lanok’s expression seemed to tell him that Ethan was talking about a completely different matter.
Click! Whoosh!
The ambulance drove off as soon as its doors closed.
“Ethan asked me to keep what happened here a secret,” Lanok explained.
“What time is it?” Kang Chan asked, having noticed that it was already dark outside when he was brought out of the building.
“It’s already around seven in the evening. You were unconscious for about five hours.”
“We really lost, huh?” Kang Chan sighed. Lanok’s face looked distorted to him since the film wasn’t as clear as glass.
“The researchers are going to find a way to stop it from causing earthquakes.”
After about twenty minutes on the road, the ambulance finally turned. When it did, the agent beside Kang Chan pulled the cover on top of him toward the wall of the vehicle.
“Are you heading back to South Korea after all of this?” Kang Chan asked Lanok.
“Resting during my travels is one of the joys in my life.”
Kang Chan smirked. The end of Lanok’s eyes curved a little, displaying a faint hint of happiness.
They hopped on a plane as soon as they arrived at the airport. Kang Chan fell asleep not long after ascending to the skies, waking up only when they finally landed in France.
“I have an important appointment in South Korea, Mr. Kang Chan, so I’m going to have to take my leave now. If you think you can’t push through with this anymore, you can head back to South Korea with me right now,” Lanok offered. He had always been hard to read, but right now, he sounded as if every word he said came from the bottom of his heart. Lanok talked about the Blackhead and the training that Kang Chan would be joining starting Monday the same way.
“I don’t want to back out of this fight, Mr. Ambassador,” Kang Chan said as he looked straight into Lanok’s eyes. “I refuse to admit defeat.”
“You won’t have to. I have your back.”
Kang Chan immediately realized that Lanok repeated what he said at the presentation hall.
Lanok then reached out and held Kang Chan’s hand.
Kang Chan’s pride was hurt.
Although there had been instances in the past when he had been so injured that he couldn’t move an inch, he had still come out of those situations victorious. His two encounters with the Blackhead were the only times when he was beaten so one-sidedly that he couldn’t even do anything.
With a stretcher, Kang Chan was transferred to the ambulance waiting at the airport. He then headed back to accommodation in Niafles.
‘Wait for me,’ he mumbled in his head. For some reason, he thought that the red rock would understand what he was saying.
‘You pitiful, motherless bastard!’
Kang Chan now felt a little relieved.
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