* * *

On the 7th floor, two masked assailants controlled most of the hostages. With two semi-automatic pistols, it wasn’t hard to control dozens of unarmed civilians.

They were initially tense from the sounds coming from below.

“What’s going on?”

“The Korean police haven’t arrived yet, right?”

The hostages, hearing this, looked slightly hopeful.

Oh Gyuchul, the restaurant owner and chef, whispered.

“The police might be here.”

The restaurant manager said with an expectant expression.

“Long live Korea!”

But their expressions quickly darkened again. One of the masked men confirmed the situation on his radio and told his partner.

“They missed two guys while searching the 5th floor. That’s why it was noisy.”

“Damn it, they’re so sloppy.”

Oh Gyuchul’s face fell.

“They’re not the police.”

“We’re doomed.”

From inside the restaurant, they couldn’t see the stairs. The two masked men were chatting by the entrance.

Then, they both suddenly turned to the side.

Their faces showed surprise as they hurriedly raised their guns.

The sound of silenced gunshots rang out in quick succession. Bullets hit both men in the torso.

They wore bulletproof vests, so the bullets didn’t penetrate, but the impact pushed them backward.

Each bullet left a thin, long trail through the dust in the air, pushing the men further back. It wasn’t just one or two bullets hitting them. To the onlookers, it looked like several transparent arrows had pierced their bodies.

Due to the shock of the bullets hitting their vests, the men couldn’t retaliate properly. They were pushed deeper into the restaurant.

Chef Oh Gyuchul shouted in surprise.

“What, what’s happening?!”

One of the men, pushed back, managed to pull the trigger. The bullet flew straight ahead.

At the same time, Kang-in came flying from the hallway ceiling. The bullet passed under his feet.

Kang-in flew through the air and kicked the enemy in the chest.

The enemy was sent flying into the wall inside the café.

Using the momentum from kicking the enemy, Kang-in jumped again.

The other man quickly turned towards Kang-in.

Kang-in kicked a decoration in the restaurant, jumping even higher.

The enemy raised his gun and fired. The bullets hit the ceiling, shattering the lights.

Not a single bullet hit its mark.

Kang-in quickly passed over the enemy’s head.

The enemy lifted his gun upwards.

Kang-in grabbed the enemy’s wrist in mid-air.

The enemy’s right arm was pulled in the direction Kang-in was flying. His body flipped backward.

Kang-in landed on the ground.

The enemy’s wrist was already broken. The gun had fallen from his hand.

The enemy screamed, his back bent.

“Aaaargh!”

The enemy’s left hand reached into his pants pocket.

AI assistant Zijin displayed a warning through the AR lens.

[Warning: Bomb trigger detected!]

Kang-in kicked the enemy’s leg and pulled his arm hard. The enemy’s body flew into the air. Kang-in grabbed his upper body and slammed him to the ground.

The enemy fainted without even screaming.

Kang-in searched the unconscious enemy’s pocket and pulled out an item.

“Hey. Does this look like a bomb trigger to you?”

He pulled out a jackknife from the pocket.

[The motion was similar to activating a bomb trigger.]

“Our Zijin is quite clueless sometimes.”

Initially, people were stunned, mouths agape. Then, realizing the rescue team had arrived, their faces lit up with joy.

Before they could start cheering, Kang-in quickly put a finger to his lips.

“Shh.”

The people hurriedly covered their mouths, yet some still let out muffled cheers. A few were on the verge of tears.

Na Kang-In scanned the faces of the people.

The AI, Zijin, reported.

[Among the rescued hostages, Shin Eun-ha is not present.]

Na Kang-In asked, “Where are the others?”

Head chef Oh Gyuchul quickly approached and explained in a low voice, “They took Shin Eun-ha, a foreign woman, and Lee Tae-ho.”

“I heard there were more masked men. How many exactly?”

“What I saw was four men taking Shin Eun-ha and the foreign woman, and four taking Lee Tae-ho. I don’t know if there were more outside the restaurant.”

Na Kang-In had checked up to the 6th floor. He had dealt with the four men descending with Lee Tae-ho. The only places the other four could go were the corners of the 7th floor and the rooftop.

He pocketed the jackknife he had just seized and reloaded the magazines of his two pistols. He also stripped the bulletproof vests off the two unconscious men.

Then he addressed the people, “Head downstairs. There’s an ally at the 5th-floor stairs. Join the others on the 2nd floor.”

Oh Gyuchul, the head chef and representative of this restaurant, felt a sense of responsibility for what had transpired here.

“Give me a gun. I’ll fight too.”

Na Kang-In looked at Oh Gyuchul and whispered, “Could he be colluding with the enemy?”

“Someone among the restaurant staff might have colluded with the enemy.”

“Or they could have sold information without knowing this would happen.”

Na Kang-In wasn’t sure he could trust anyone in the restaurant with a weapon.

As he disassembled the two pistols he had obtained on the 7th floor, removing the firing mechanisms, he said, “If you think you can dodge bullets, come with me.”

“What?”

“You saw the fight just now, didn’t you?”

Oh Gyuchul quickly changed his mind, “On second thought, I think my place is here. Where would I go, leaving this restaurant behind?”

---

Head chef Oh Gyuchul led the people downstairs. Midway down the 5th-floor stairs, he met Lee Tae-ho.

After sending the others ahead, he exclaimed, “President Lee Tae-ho! I thought something terrible had happened to you when you were taken away!”

Seeing the people rushing down, Lee Tae-ho tensed up, then sighed in relief upon seeing Oh Gyuchul, “I thought I was done for. If it weren’t for Na Kang-In….”

“Oh? Do you know who that person is who saved us?”

Lee Tae-ho boasted, “Of course. This isn’t the first time I’ve been through something like this with Na Kang-In. Ha ha ha.”

Oh Gyuchul lowered his voice and asked, “Who exactly is he? A special forces operative? A spy?”

Lee Tae-ho hesitated, unsure if he should reveal Na Kang-In’s identity. He answered quietly, “He’s a food truck guy.”

“What?”

“Hard to believe, right? I didn’t believe it at first either. Ha, ha ha. Wow, I still can’t believe it.”

---

The leader of the armed group, Jackal, had one goal: the access codes to OmegaTech’s confidential server. Scarlett Kelly, the company’s CEO and chief researcher, knew those codes.

Jackal muttered, “I knew she wouldn’t be someone who could be easily tortured or threatened….”

So he resorted to threatening to kill the hostages instead.

It was effective. Scarlett visibly wavered. Jackal estimated she would spill the access codes within an hour.

But his plan fell apart. The Korean police surrounded the building too quickly, leaving no time to extract the codes.

Jackal switched tactics. He abandoned plans B, C, and D, opting for plan E. The essence of plan E was to escape with the target and only a few trusted men.

In plan E, external hired mercenaries served as decoys to buy time. They were given escape orders only after Jackal had safely fled.

Such tactics would tarnish his reputation among mercenaries, which is why Jackal had never used plan E before.

Jackal and his men moved Scarlett Kelly to a corner of the building.

But there was another hostage.

One of Jackal’s men gestured towards Shin Eun-ha and asked, “Boss, why are we taking her? It’s tight enough just getting ourselves out.”

“That’s why you’re not the leader. You need to be prepared.”

“Well, that’s a bit….”

Jackal explained, “A lizard drops its tail to escape danger. The enemy gets distracted by the tail and the lizard escapes.”

“Oh! So if the police chase us while we’re escaping the building, we throw her to them.”

“Exactly.”

“But why her specifically?”

“Would a still tail be effective?”

“No.”

“The purpose of the tail is to draw attention. A famous actress getting shot in front of the TV cameras would draw all the attention. That’s when we make our move.”

The subordinate nodded and flattered him, “You’re brilliant, boss.”

They conversed in English.

Shin Eun-ha’s English was weak, so she couldn’t understand their conversation.

Scarlett Kelly understood. Her face turned pale.

Jackal noticed her reaction and smiled coldly.

“If the police don’t chase us, we can use the actress to extract the codes.”

* * *