* * *
The detective at the local police station checked Na Kang-In’s identity at the team leader’s instruction.
He had seen a car abduction video online before and knew Na Kang-In was a skilled fighter.
However, even after hastily checking Na Kang-In’s background, there was no record of him having any special forces experience.
The detective team leader, after receiving the report, was worried.
“I know this guy is very skilled in martial arts. But even so, if he goes up against armed men, he could get shot.”
“Even if they fight well, they’re amateurs. Do you think they’ll stand up to a gun?”
“Right? There’s no way they’d charge when we have more than one gun, right?”
The detective nodded.
“Of course. They’d be dead if they did.”
***
Lee Tae-ho asked nervously.
“The people on the second floor are in danger too. Isn’t there any way to rescue them?”
Na Kang-In replied.
“The second floor is fine.”
“What?”
“It’s already been taken care of.”
Lee Tae-ho didn’t understand.
“What do you mean by ‘taken care of’?”
“We took down two enemies on the first floor and three on the second floor. We gave the people on the second floor two handguns, so they should be able to handle any sudden situation.”
Lee Tae-ho was shocked.
“W-what? That can’t be true.”
He had heard something from the seventh floor.
“The boss asked about the situation on the first and second floors through the walkie-talkie, and they said everything was fine.”
Suddenly, a voice came from the walkie-talkie of the man who had collapsed.
[Report the situation.]
Na Kang-In quietly instructed Zinji.
“Imitate the voice of the guy with the walkie-talkie.”
Then he spoke into the walkie-talkie.
“We subdued two guys on the fifth floor. No casualties on our side.”
[Did you search each floor properly?]
“There’s a small storage room behind a painting on the wall.”
[We missed that. If you’ve taken care of it, proceed quickly to the fifth floor and continue if everything is clear.]
The walkie-talkie went silent.
Lee Tae-ho asked with a shocked expression.
“Kang-in, wasn’t that the voice of the guy who just fainted?”
***
The voice Na Kang-In used on the walkie-talkie was similar to the voice of the guy who had been chattering behind Lee Tae-ho when he came down the stairs.
Na Kang-In explained.
“You’ve seen a lot of impressionists on TV, right? I was the one who answered earlier saying there were no issues on the first and second floors. That was after we had already taken care of the lower floors.”
Lee Tae-ho finally understood what was going on. He was genuinely impressed.
“I knew you were amazing, but not to this extent. Analyzing the situation, fighting, shooting, and responding… wow. Do you have a special forces uniform at home or something?”
Na Kang-In did have a special forces uniform. But it was a strategic special forces uniform from the Earth Union in 2082.
Na Kang-In changed the subject.
“Is Eun-ha okay?”
“Yes. She was fine when I came down.”
“That’s a relief.”
Lee Tae-ho provided additional information.
“Oh! It seems like they are giving Eun-ha special attention.”
The AI, Zinji, speculated the reason.
[People well-known to the public have high value as hostages. Shin Eun-ha has become more famous due to the success of her recent movie. She’s the perfect hostage.]
Na Kang-In frowned and whispered.
“That’s not good news.”
Lee Tae-ho had another question.
“Kang-in, before the fight, you called me over to the hallway. Was there a reason?”
“If you had gotten caught up in the fight and been shot, Min-ji would have beaten me up. So, I pulled you out of the battle area first.”
Lee Tae-ho remembered the moment when Na Kang-In called him over.
‘When he called me over in the hallway, it was so…’
It was natural. If you only heard Na Kang-In’s voice, you might have thought he was surprised to meet Lee Tae-ho there. In reality, the four masked assailants were deceived by Na Kang-In’s voice acting.
But Lee Tae-ho didn’t mistake it at that time.
Na Kang-In’s expression and gestures conveyed a different message from his words.
Na Kang-In had clearly indicated with his expression and gestures to move behind him. His expression and gestures communicated more effectively than his words.
Moreover, Na Kang-In had perfectly mimicked the voice and mannerisms of someone he had just heard, fooling the enemies. That’s not something anyone could do.
Lee Tae-ho realized.
‘Acting skills! Na Kang-In is good at acting! Very good!’
Director Son Tae-min wanted to hire Na Kang-In as the martial arts director for his next film. If Na Kang-In had any acting skills, he even considered giving him a small role.
But Na Kang-In’s acting just now was far better than what Son Tae-min and Lee Tae-ho had expected.
“Kang-in, if this was an audition, I would have genuinely applauded your performance in the hallway.”
“It wasn’t that great.”
AI Zinji interjected.
[It was that great. According to the hostage rescue protocol, I assisted with your expressions and gestures.]
When Na Kang-In called Lee Tae-ho over in the hallway, he did the talking and made the expressions. But the AI had helped with the subtle details of those expressions. The same was true for the gestures.
Na Kang-In whispered.
“Zijin, bragging like this feels a bit like advertising, doesn’t it? Is boasting one of your features?”
– No. Natural Robotics’ implantable AI uses human-like thinking patterns. Therefore, each unit has a unique personality.
“So, your tendency to brag is a personality trait?”
– Without comparison to other AIs, I can’t determine if I brag more.
Na Kang-In muttered as he collected the handguns and magazines from the fallen enemies.
“I think I get it.”
The AI reported.
– The enemy’s bulletproof vests can be reused.
“You even know how to change the subject now?”
– You should use bulletproof vests that haven’t been hit.
“I was going to. But the thing is, the guys downstairs didn’t have bulletproof vests, while these guys do. Their equipment is different. These guys aren’t newly recruited mercenaries, or they’re higher-level mercenaries than the ones downstairs.”
He stripped the vests off the two enemies and shared one with Lee Tae-ho.
“Now let’s go rescue Eun-ha.”
Lee Tae-ho quickly made a suggestion.
“Give me a gun, and I’ll fight with you.”
“Do you know how to handle a gun?”
“I was discharged from active duty. I’m a reservist army sergeant.”
“What was your position in the army?”
Tae-ho hesitated.
“Well, I was in the Ministry of National Defense’s PR unit…”
Kang-in handed him a handgun and a magazine. The other guns were placed in the corridor.
“Alright, Mr. Lee, you stay here and keep an eye on them.”
“Yes, sir.”
After asking Tae-ho for more information about the upstairs, Kang-in climbed the stairs. Tae-ho watched him pass the midpoint of the stairs and thought:
‘If Director Son Tae-min knew that Kang-in could act so well, would he have changed the script of ‘A Sunny Day’? Maybe he would have created a powerful supporting role…’
Suddenly, he heard someone move beside him.
Startled, Tae-ho quickly turned around. The guy who had fainted from being shot in the limbs was now coming to his senses and moving.
Tae-ho’s hand tightened on the gun. The muzzle was already aimed at the enemy.
The trigger was pulled accidentally.
The powder in the chamber exploded, and a silenced shot was fired. Although the subsonic round made a small sound, the recoil felt stronger than expected.
The small bullet from the muzzle hit the guy, who was just waking up, in the torso.
“Ugh!”
Tae-ho, still aiming the gun, breathed heavily.
“Huff! Huff!”
Kang-in peeked down the stairs.
“Is there a problem?”
Tae-ho quickly replied.
“That, that guy moved, so I shot him… Wait, I shot someone?”
Tae-ho’s hand trembled violently.
“I killed someone…”
Kang-in said.
“He’s not dead. The special bullets have low penetration, so they couldn’t even pierce that thin bulletproof vest. He just fainted from the impact.”
Tae-ho sighed in relief.
“Phew. He’s not dead.”
Kang-in advised.
“You need to shoot the head for a one-shot kill.”
“I’ll just aim for the torso.”
* * *
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