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Chapter 41: An Intruder Out for Blood
TL: Enuma ID
"Am I dreaming?"
Time seemed to stand still.
I counted the digits with my finger, twice, three times, and the number refused to change.
[Balance: 30,000,000 CNY]
Ěn̆ü ḿ а .ĩ d
Six billion won.
An amount I had never even imagined, and before I knew it, my brow was furrowing.
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Beyond that staggering sum, I could feel Yang Mi-ryeong's scheming intentions, plain as day.
'I can't even begin to guess just how badly she wanted me under her thumb.'
When I first heard about the Jin Hao kidnapping job, Yang Mi-ryeong had boasted that she'd pay me more money than I'd touch in a lifetime.
At the time, I'd laughed it off as a joke, but here it was, come back as fact.
Еn_um а̊ . і̊ ď
'I owe you my life, you know.'
But now, this sum sitting in my account was clearly more than just the fee for Jin Hao's ransom.
Part of it was the price of the life she owed me.
The other part had to be bait, meant to win me over.
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'If you ever change your mind, come find me. And remember, work under me and you'll hold far greater wealth and power than you do now.'
The last words Yang Mi-ryeong and I had exchanged flickered through my mind.
E n u̇m̆ а̂.í.d
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted.
"...I don't know anymore."
But I cut off any greed beyond that, clean, and withdrew only 100,000 yuan from the account.
[Balance: 29,900,000 CNY]
While the machine sorted the stacks of cash inside, my eyes narrowed at the remaining balance on the screen.
Maybe because the amount was so far beyond my comprehension?
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Should I buy a house? A car?
By all rights I should have been bouncing off the walls like a lottery winner, but if anything, my heart only grew calmer.
I couldn't even summon a single idea of what to do with this enormous pile of money right now.
It was overwhelming.
'I think I understand why people turn and become Crow agents.'
Honestly, with just the money I'd received today, I would never need to worry about money again for the rest of my life.
Е̄ň ǔ mа̇. і ď
Anyway.
Agonizing over it any longer would only waste time.
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Waddling along with my pants pocket weighed down by the thick wad of bills, I made my way back to Dandong Paradise.
In front of Wei Liang, who had been waiting for me with an anxious face, I plopped down that hefty stack of cash.
"Here. Take this money and sort yourselves out."
"You're really handing over 50,000 yuan, just like that...."
Ё n̂ um̈а..і̄_d̄
With this pocket change, I had just become the kid's entire world.
In Wei Liang's wavering eyes, I could finally glimpse hope glittering like stars.
"I told you, this isn't free. It's hush money for you lot."
"I understand. Even so.... even so, thank you, hyeong-nim. Truly!"
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If I left him alone any longer, he really was going to cry.
Feeling awkward for no good reason, I pulled out the extra 50,000 yuan I'd withdrawn separately.
Е̇ ṅu̇m̃а.і̆ d_
Partly because the wrecked shambles of Dandong Paradise had been bothering me, and partly because the astronomical figure I'd just seen in my account had left me numb.
Money didn't feel like money anymore; ten million won was rolling around like loose change.
"While you're at it, remodel the place too. Here's extra for that."
"No, this is too much...."
"In exchange, I'll drop by now and then, so keep me stocked with beer."
"O-of course! I'll start rounding up everyone I know right away."
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"Yeah. Handle it however you like."
Maybe it was because he finally got to fix up the bar exactly the way he wanted?
Wei Liang's enthusiasm was off the charts.
Anyway.
While Dandong Paradise was under renovation, I commuted to the neighborhood too.
Thwack!
W ё b̃ n̊ о̃v̂ е̂l Е̄_n̄ um̌ ȧ
Crunch!
"You punks are the reason my boys can't walk around in peace!"
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"F-fuck! Where did you come from?!"
"And who the hell are you?!"
"Gurk!"
Just like now, barging uninvited into every gang brawl I ran across in the alleys and wrecking the whole thing was my daily routine these days.
Е̃ n̆ ū m а .ī.d́
"Where do you think you're going? Stay and play!"
"F-fuck!"
"Spare me! Please, spare me!"
After a few days of stirring things up like that, the nearby alleys thankfully went quiet before long.
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To the point where the local thugs would catch sight of my shadow from a distance and bolt in a blind panic.
Thanks to that, my body didn't even get restless. It was just right.
Е̄n̆ um а̌
Then one day, I dropped by Dandong Paradise, figuring I'd mooch a beer.
"I-it's been a while, hyeong-nim!"
"Oh. Hey there."
Another familiar face had shown up at Dandong Paradise.
One of the Black Panther Gang trio, Wang Hong.
"I heard Wei Liang got your help to remodel Dandong Paradise, hyeong-nim, so I came straight over."
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"Right. I heard you've been working three jobs."
"Yes. I've been DJing at a club in Shenyang lately."
"Nice. But Shenyang? That commute must keep you busy."
"It does. But don't worry. Since things turned out this way, I quit all my other jobs on the way here."
"Huh?"
"From now on, I'm staking my life on this Dandong Paradise, for you, hyeong-nim."
Е n̄ ŭ m a. і̄ d
"Uh, sure. Do whatever works for you."
"By the way, hyeong-nim, would it be all right if I replaced all the speakers? They're so old the sound quality is a little...."
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"Why are you asking me? I'm not even the boss."
"Still...."
"I gave Wei Liang the money, so go swap them out however you see fit."
"Thank you!"
Е n̆ u m̊а̄ . і̌ d̂
In any case, keeping them where I could see them put my mind considerably more at ease.
And after Wang Hong joined up, sure enough.
"Do you happen to need a bartender, hyeong-nim?"
"...."
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"I mix a highball that'll knock your socks off."
The last member of the trio, Zhang Qi, joined the very next day.
Ė n̆üm̄ а̂
'Black Panther Gang, season two.'
*****
Meanwhile, a whole week had slipped by before I knew it.
In the time it took me to transmit the footage filmed at the hideout to headquarters three times over, Owl No. 5 showed no sign whatsoever of returning.
By this point, I let the tension drain out of my shoulders.
I made up my mind to stay in Dandong like this for a month or so.
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'The thugs have made themselves scarce lately, too.... I'm getting restless.'
Then one day, on my leisurely stroll back to the hideout after work.
I had climbed the stairs all the way up and reached the door of the rooftop room.
"...."
Something felt off.
I stopped short of grabbing the door handle and narrowed my eyes.
E nǔ m̈а. id́
'Why is this....'
Owl No. 5's hideout had a lever-style handle you pushed down to open.
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One of my little compulsions as a black agent was that whenever I went out, I always left the handle perfectly level.
That handle was tilted slightly downward.
"...."
I scanned my surroundings once, checking for anything different from that morning.
Е n ùm̃ а.і̃ d̄
The only thing that had changed was this one door handle.
But I was certain.
'Someone is inside the hideout.'
First, pretending to scratch my back, I closed my hand around the grip of my combat knife.
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Then, as if nothing were wrong, I opened the hideout door and stepped inside.
Click.
Е.nũm̀ а̌
The moment I flipped on the light, I swept my eyes across the room.
"...."
"...."
My gaze locked with the other man's.
He had wedged himself into the empty space under the desk, and he had a pistol trained on me.
The sudden glare made him scrunch up his face, but the man's eyes blazed, out for blood.
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"...."
"...."
In the silence, we sized each other up for a moment.
Me with a combat knife, him with a pistol.
Anyone could see how this would end.
But nothing was going to stop me.
Ёn̈ũ m ä
I spun the knife's grip in my hand and was about to hurl myself forward.
"...Huh?"
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Just then, the man's eyes flew wide open and he swung the muzzle aside.
That blade-sharp glare turned round in an instant.
From hostile to downright glad to see me, the shift in attitude was so abrupt that I, too, froze mid-motion in spite of myself.
"Aren't you Agent Sparrow No. 7?"
Ě n̆ u ḿа̇
The man broke into a bright smile as he recognized me.
Only then could I blink and slowly take in his face.
"It's me. Owl No. 8. First time we've seen each other face to face since the Sinuiju operation, right?"
"Ah.... right."
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He was correct.
Owl No. 8, who had been deployed on the Sinuiju operation alongside Owl No. 5.
W̃ e b́ nо̃ v е̃l̇ Еn̆ū m а
After that, during the operation to kidnap Investigation Bureau director So Se-hyok, we had parted ways without ever seeing each other's faces.
Paying no mind to me standing there blinking in a daze, he unfolded himself from under the desk and stuck out his hand with easy familiarity.
"Been keeping well? Never dreamed I'd run into you again in a place like this."
"Haha.... same here."
I let out a quiet, awkward laugh to myself.
'That was way too close.'
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This man clearly had no idea he'd just had one foot across the River Styx and come back.
At any rate, the rooftop hideout was far too cramped for two grown men to squeeze into.
"Phwah! Whew. Sorry. All that sudden tension must've dried my throat right out."
But as if this were nothing new, Owl No. 8 casually pulled a drink from the mini fridge on the floor.
"Mind if I have one too?"
"Ah, you too, Agent? Here, catch."
Е ň_ùm̈à.і́ d̈
Unlike the sharp-featured Owl No. 5, Owl No. 8 was a breezy, good-natured sort.
Even agents under the same code apparently came in completely different flavors.
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"No. 5 and I have been close for a good while now. About a year, give or take? We got posted here around the same time."
Personal contact between black agents is forbidden on principle.
But if only to lean on someone in the same boat, black agents sharing a code tend to quietly keep in touch with one another.
Frankly, wasn't I doing the same with Kite No. 3? We went back to the Defense Intelligence Command as senior and junior, and these days we kept up the friendship while posing as hometown brothers.
Wеb̌ ñ о̀v̀е̌l Е n̈ ŭ ṁа̂
"But the past few days, he hasn't been answering at all, so I came to check the hideout myself in case something happened to him. Figured if something had gone wrong, the least I could do was avenge him."
"That could've been dangerous...."
"Heh heh. Guess I lost my head for a minute. Just like what you did for Crane No. 13, Agent Sparrow No. 7.... the thirst for revenge just came surging up in me too."
He'd been lying in wait inside the hideout with murder in his heart when some stranger swung the door wide open; it was a miracle he hadn't simply pulled the trigger on sight.
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Of course, I was just as rattled myself.
"But the second I locked eyes with you, Agent, my knees honestly went weak. I clearly had every advantage, and you still twisted your body to counterattack in that split second.... Whew, one wrong move and we'd have had a real disaster on our hands."
Е̌ nům̊ ӑ
Owl No. 8's face went white.
The look of a man who didn't even want to imagine it.
I found myself tilting my head.
'What a strange guy.'
Just moments ago, when he'd had his gun on me, his eyes had been pure murder; now here he was, grinning like a fool and playing up how scared he'd been.
It was hard to pin down which one was the real him.
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"So did you just come by today to check on Owl No. 5?"
"That's part of it, but honestly, I had another reason. Since fate's thrown us together like this, Agent, how about working a job with me?"
"A job?"
At his out-of-nowhere proposal, I tilted my head, bewildered for a moment.
"A side job, to be precise. See, I've landed us one hell of a gig this time."
Owl No. 8 patted his bag.
W̊ е̌ bn ӧ v еl̂ Ѐnŭ ḿ ă
*****
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