* * *

Na Kang-In conveyed his true intentions to Lee Tae-ho with his expression and gestures. Lee Tae-ho followed his lead and walked towards the hallway.

AI Zijin reported,

[Lee Tae-ho is out of the enemy’s line of sight.]

AI Zijin used the enemy’s footsteps data to inform Na Kang-In of their position on the stairs. Then, in a quick voice, it reported,

[One second until the enemy’s arrival!]

The outline of a translucent human figure appeared beyond the wall.

AI Zijin couldn’t predict where the enemy’s gun was aimed. Na Kang-In assumed the enemy was coming down with their gun pointed.

The first enemy turned his head towards the hallway as he descended the last step.

At that moment, Na Kang-In sprang out.

The enemy’s eyes widened. The silenced pistol was pointed towards the hallway. If the gun fired at that angle, it would hit Lee Tae-ho.

Na Kang-In grabbed the enemy’s arm, twisting it aside, and struck his neck with his elbow.

“Kek!”

With a short scream, the enemy collapsed.

As the enemy’s arm twisted, the finger on the pistol’s trigger moved. The bullet fired from the enemy’s gun hit the body of the person descending the stairs.

“Ugh!”

The enemy was wearing a low-level bulletproof vest. The subsonic bullet impacted the enemy’s body but did not penetrate the vest.

It didn’t matter. Na Kang-In also had a gun.

He used the unconscious enemy as a shield and fired at the approaching enemy.

He didn’t fire just one shot. Two bullets hit the enemy’s torso, preventing any counterattack. Two more bullets flew, one hitting an arm and the other a leg. The enemy had no armor on their limbs.

“Argh!”

The enemy screamed and rolled down the stairs.

The two remaining enemies coming down the stairs aimed their guns while Na Kang-In was fighting the first two.

Na Kang-In was using the unconscious enemy as a shield.

AI Zijin projected the expected trajectories. The only place the enemies could shoot was Na Kang-In’s face.

Meanwhile, the enemies’ entire bodies were exposed.

Na Kang-In had the advantage.

He pulled the trigger faster than the enemies. He aimed for the legs of the enemy standing on the stairs. AI Zijin increased the accuracy.

As Na Kang-In pulled the trigger, his gun made an unpleasant metallic sound. The bullet didn’t fire.

AI Zijin quickly reported,

[Jam! The bullet is stuck!]

“Damn it!”

Now the enemy had the upper hand. It was dangerous to be trapped in their crossfire.

Na Kang-In released the shielded enemy and jumped aside.

There were still two enemies left. One of them fired. The bullet passed where his head had been.

Na Kang-In stepped on the wall and leapt upwards. The bullet hit where he had just stepped.

He flipped in the air, reaching behind his back to pull out a spare pistol from his waist.

AI Zijin projected the enemy’s expected firing courses in the air.

Multiple translucent red lines appeared, indicating where he would likely be hit. Avoiding all of them mid-air was difficult.

His toes touched the ceiling. He kicked off the ceiling, spinning his body. This time, it was a bit dangerous. A bullet from the enemy grazed his waist and lodged in the wall.

Na Kang-In also fired in mid-air.

Although AI Zijin assisted with aiming, accuracy plummeted when shooting while spinning mid-air.

The first shot missed.

The enemy’s bullet whizzed past his shoulder.

Na Kang-In pulled the trigger repeatedly. The second bullet was stopped by the enemy’s bulletproof vest.

Even AI Zijin’s predictions had errors.

The enemy’s bullet deviated slightly from the predicted course, grazing his body. A ricocheted bullet flew back towards him, accompanied by bits of concrete.

Na Kang-In kicked off the hallway wall, leaping in the opposite direction and firing.

This time, the shot hit its mark. A bullet lodged in the enemy’s leg.

“Argh!”

The enemy screamed and tumbled down the stairs.

Na Kang-In landed on the floor. The last enemy was hidden behind the upper stairs. He kicked the falling enemy’s head and aimed his gun at the stairs.

The last remaining enemy abandoned the attack and hid behind the ascending stairs.

AI Zijin quickly spoke,

[You must catch the enemy before they rejoin the main force!]

“I know!”

Na Kang-In sprinted up the stairs.

Lee Tae-ho watched with wide eyes from the hallway as Na Kang-In fought. He flinched whenever bullets flew.

Seeing Na Kang-In sprint towards the stairs, he urgently shouted,

“There’s a mine there!”

The enemy who hid behind the stairs relied solely on the booby trap.

‘That guy will trigger it when he steps on the stairs!’

The stairs were equipped with a laser-detection explosive booby trap. When someone passing the stairs triggers the laser, a pre-installed tiny bomb explodes.

Though the bomb is small, its firepower is weak.

However, it has twelve darts attached. When the small bomb explodes, the set of darts simultaneously flies, piercing the legs of the person who triggers the sensor.

The masked man covered his ears, anticipating the explosion. Even a small bomb can cause ear damage in a confined space.

‘Once he’s incapacitated, I’ll shoot him immediately…’

He realized something was wrong. The bomb should have already gone off.

He remembered what he had missed during the swift battle.

‘Even though two people rolled down the stairs, the booby trap didn’t go off!’

He quickly removed his hands from his ears. He saw Na Kang-In jumping up the stairs.

The enemy hurriedly raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

Too late. The muzzle was pointed in the wrong direction. The bullet embedded itself in the wall behind where Na Kang-In had passed.

Na Kang-In extended his leg in mid-air. His foot connected with the enemy’s face, kicking him away.

“Ugh!”

The last enemy’s head snapped back, and he collapsed on the spot.

Na Kang-In kicked the stair railing to stabilize himself and landed on the floor. He glanced at the booby trap.

The detonation device had already been disarmed. Even if triggered, the bomb wouldn’t explode.

Na Kang-In looked up and asked,

“Any other enemies?”

[No other enemies detected.]

He checked the situation on the stairs. Four armed, masked men were down. Two were knocked out by him, and two were groaning with gunshot wounds in their limbs.

The brief battle was over. AI Zijin spoke.

[Ending close combat support.]

Na Kang-In assessed the fight he had just been through.

“Indeed, if you know where they’re aiming before they shoot, you can dodge bullets.”

[That’s because I provided excellent support.]

“It felt like dodging in a rhythm game. Instead of moving fingers, you twist your body when you see the lines in the air.”

[Natural Robotics’ close combat support technology is top-notch. It’s different from a rhythm game.]

“Do you really want to advertise the company in this situation?”

[The advertisement cannot be disabled as it is a default option.]

“Got it. Not a rhythm game, a bullet-hell game.”

[What’s the difference?]

“In a bullet-hell game, you dodge bullets.”

***

THO Entertainment’s president, Lee Tae-ho, stood in the hallway. From his position, he couldn’t see the battle happening upstairs.

“Wow, really…”

The fight downstairs was intense enough.

He knew how Na Kang-In had captured the kidnappers, but seeing him fight against armed men was a different feeling altogether.

The stairs fell silent. He cautiously approached the hallway and peeked around the corner. He saw Na Kang-In standing in the middle of the wide area on the stairs. There were footprints on the wall, but he didn’t notice them.

Na Kang-In glanced down and then looked up again, asking,

“President Lee Tae-ho, you came from the 7th floor, right? I need information about the 7th floor.”

“What? Yes? Yes.”

“If you have anything useful, please tell me.”

Lee Tae-ho quickly explained.

“These guys were supposed to take me only to the 2nd floor. There are three more guys on the 2nd floor, and they were going to hand me over to them.”

“And after that?”

“These guys brought extra masks. They were going to put them on the civilians on the 2nd floor and send them out to the 1st floor.”

“So, the guys who would go out with the hostages are the ones on the 2nd floor.”

“Yes. They also said they would add one more person from the 1st floor.”

“What about you, President?”

“Me, me?”

“Why did they take you?”

“Oh! They told me to go out without a mask and deliver their demands to the police outside. They asked for a vehicle for their escape.”

Na Kang-In guessed the enemy’s intentions.

“If they put masks on the civilians and send them out first, the civilians would get hit first if a shootout breaks out.”

“What? Wait a minute. A shootout? I’m going out too!”

“You, President, won’t get shot since your face will be exposed.”

“But there’s still a chance of stray bullets…”

“Since I’ve taken care of these guys, that won’t happen.”

“Oh, right. So, they were planning to use me as a speaker to convey their demands and use the civilians with masks as bullet shields.”

“There’s another purpose. Once the police realize they’ve shot civilians, they will be extremely cautious about shooting again, even if they see the real enemies. They won’t be able to distinguish them.”

“Wow, these guys are ruthless… Wait, Na Kang-In, if a shootout happens, wouldn’t those guys also be in danger?”

“The ones going out are the three on the 2nd floor and one of the two on the 1st floor. Those guys are not the core members. They can get shot, so they’re probably mercenaries.”

“Mercenaries? Do we have mercenaries in our country?”

Na Kang-In removed the mask from one of the enemies, revealing an Asian face.

“They would have chosen Asian mercenaries who can speak Korean. That way, as long as they keep their masks on, all the perpetrators will be assumed to be Korean.”

“Why would they do that?”

If Na Kang-In hadn’t intervened, the police might not have even surrounded the building yet. There was a high chance that it hadn’t been reported at all.

“By making the police think this crime was committed by Koreans, the culprits can escape abroad while the investigation focuses on finding Korean suspects. It becomes a cold case because no amount of searching domestically will uncover the true perpetrators.”

“Ah… They’re meticulous. So that’s why they kept speaking Korean.”

“To continuously instill the impression in witnesses that this crime was committed by Koreans.”

* * *