Chapter 2142 – 2142. Eternal Eden
“This fucking bastard!!!”
*Bang!*
Jin Chung-hyun’s enraged fist slammed into his office desk. His eyes, usually the epitome of cool reason, were bloodshot, his lips were parted in a snarl. His meticulously styled hair was disheveled, and his expensive suit was crumpled.
Just then, the office door burst open, and his secretary rushed in, breathless.
“Director! The headquarters building is under attack! The security team says they’re using bomb drones! We need to evacuate the building immediately!”
Seeing his flustered secretary, Jin Chung-hyun became even more composed.
“Secretary Park, calm down. Have you forgotten how sturdily we built the headquarters building? It won’t collapse from something like this. Besides, we reinforced the building not too long ago. Drone bombs? It’s not like a plane is crashing into it; it can withstand that easily.”
“Y-yes, of course. There’s no way the headquarters building would collapse from something like this.”
“Any other attacks?”
“No, sir. It’s strange to think the military is behind this. If the military decided to punish us, it wouldn’t be like this… Could it be a traitor?”
“Sung Yu-jin. It’s that bastard’s doing.”
“You mean Sung Yu-jin, the representative of Sungak Elementary School? Why is he here when he should be in Seoul…”
“I don’t know what that crazy bastard is thinking. Nor do I need to know. What’s important is that the bastard is coming down from the building’s rooftop right now. Spouting nonsense about killing me, the audacity!!”
“D-director, please calm down. If Sung Yu-jin is coming down from the rooftop… we can just go down first and leave the building. Surely, he won’t follow us all the way to the city? Busan is practically our Ilwoo Group’s territory.”
“Leave the headquarters? Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I’d abandon the headquarters out of fear of some punk?”
“I was just saying that as a precaution. Although nearly half of the security team died in this bombing… the other half is safe. And we also have him.”
“Right. There’s no way the headquarters’ strength can’t handle just one person. Order the head of security to kill Sung Yu-jin no matter what.”
“Understood. He said he’s coming down from the rooftop, right? I’ll tell the head of security… wait, a moment. If he’s coming down from above, then the chairman’s office is…”
“Have you forgotten that the chairman is in Japan?”
“I haven’t forgotten. But isn’t the vice-chairman’s office right below the chairman’s office? Could he be targeting…”
The vice-chairman.
It was Jin Chung-hyun’s father. Startled, Jin Chung-hyun contacted his father on his smartphone. After a short ring, his father answered the phone.
“Father! Come down to the lower floor immediately! A madman is targeting you!”
Jin Chung-hyun, in a hurry, was crushed by the voice that followed.
-Too late. Your father has already been dismembered. Should I take a picture and send it to you?
“That goddamn bastard, he finally did it!!”
-Finally my ass. You and I are enemies. You tried to kill me, and now I’m trying to kill you. It’s a shame that all your other family members are in different places? It would have been nice if you were all together… Anyway. You’re next. I’m coming to kill you, so wait for me.
*Click.*
The call ended.
“Aaaaargh!”
Jin Chung-hyun screamed and threw his smartphone. The smartphone shattered as it hit the wall.
Jin Chung-hyun gritted his teeth and ordered his secretary.
“Secretary Park! Tell the head of security! Sung Yu-jin! Kill that bastard! No, capture him alive if possible! That bastard killed my father… He messed with our family! I will never forgive him!!”
“Y-yes, sir. I will relay the instructions to the head of security immediately.”
“And bring that out too!”
“By ‘that’ do you mean…?”
“The robot we developed for combat! BP, was it? Deploy it immediately!”
“BP is still in the testing phase, though…”
“Deploy it!”
“Yes, yes, sir. Understood.”
“And ask for his cooperation as well.”
Jin Chung-hyun’s voice became more cautious. He was someone Jin Chung-hyun couldn’t treat carelessly.
“I will do as you instructed. So, please go downstairs first. The fire in the building should be almost extinguished.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“Sir?”
“Do you think I’d abandon my office and run away because I’m scared of that bastard? Absolutely not. I’ll watch that bastard from my office.”
Jin Chung-hyun’s eyes blazed. Jin Chung-hyun’s stubbornness was famous even within the Ilwoo Group. Ten years ago, his stubbornness had shone brightly, earning him recognition in the Middle East. That achievement was what got him to his current position as director.
There were only a handful of people who could break Jin Chung-hyun’s stubbornness. The secretary was not one of them. The secretary quietly bowed and left the office.
* * *
I killed Jin Sung-man, the vice-chairman of the Ilwoo Group. I killed Jin Sung-man, Jin Chung-hyun’s father, the moment I saw him without even exchanging a word. Jin Chung-hyun called Jin Sung-man at the perfect time, and I informed him of Jin Sung-man’s death. Hearing Jin Chung-hyun’s voice filled with rage made me feel great.
‘Jin Chung-hyun’s office is five floors below here. Looking outside, the police are already gathering. I need to move quickly.’
I can’t face them all alone. My stamina will run out, and I’ll be defeated.
‘Considering the time to escape, I need to kill Jin Chung-hyun within 10 minutes.’
I leave the vice-chairman’s office and head downstairs. I can’t use the elevator. I used a suicide drone to blow up the elevator as the main target.
As I quickly descend the stairs, security guards appear. They’re wearing bulletproof vests, carrying rifles, and have motorcycle helmets on.
‘State-of-the-art equipment. The technology level is high. They’re using equipment that even the military hasn’t commercialized? It’s certain that the Ilwoo Group has a technologist.’
If possible, I’d like to kill the Ilwoo Group’s technologist too, but I don’t have any information. How can I kill someone when I don’t know who they are or where they are?
“Terrorist!!”
“Die!!”
The security guards fired their guns mercilessly. I ran along the stairwell wall, dodging the bullets, and approached them.
*Swish!*
The lightly swung blade sliced through their necks. Ignoring the bodies tumbling down, I continued to descend.
*Beep beep beep!*
A red light flashed in the middle of the stairs.
‘A bomb?!’
I instantly recognized it and changed direction, going back up.
*KABOOOM!*
The entire staircase was blown away. If I had been just a little late, I would have been caught in the explosion and torn to pieces.
Below the billowing black smoke, I could sense movement.
Thunder Sky Style Electromagnetic Wave.
Below the destroyed staircase, six armed soldiers were aiming their guns upwards, waiting for me to appear. If I showed myself even a little, they would pull the trigger.
‘Eat this.’
I took out C4 from my backpack and threw it. The C4 was small, so their reaction was slow.
*KABOOOM!*
A powerful explosion pulverized the enemies. I jumped down towards the burning staircase. Killing the soldiers blocking my way, I arrived at the floor where Jin Chung-hyun’s office was located.
As I entered the hallway, there was a robot. It was a robot with a white metal body and dozens of legs, resembling a woodlouse.
‘Even if it’s a robot, it’s disgusting with all those legs.’
The robot’s head had lens-like eyes that emitted a red light.
“H-hello, c-customer. Th-this is a r-restricted area. P-please, d-die!”
“Is this machine gone mad? Or is it still incomplete?”
“Goodbye, goodbye! Customer!”
The robot moved its dozens of legs and charged. It seemed to be coming straight at me, but then it moved like a bug, crawling on the walls. Its speed was so fast that even my eyes had trouble keeping up.
‘If I can’t follow it with my eyes… I can perceive it with other senses.’
Thunder Sky Style Electromagnetic Wave.
Electromagnetic waves spread out, confirming the robot’s location. It would be easier to use EMP, but it consumes too much stamina, so I decided to save it.
‘Above.’
The robot, which had been hanging from the ceiling, dropped down. All of its dozens of legs had turned into sharp blades.
I used my blade to hook the falling robot and slammed it onto the floor. The overturned robot bug struggled, trying to flip itself over.
“N-no, it hurts. It hurts!”
“You’re a robot, and you’re so noisy. It hurts? Alright, I’ll make it easy for you.”
I stabbed my blade into the joints of the robot’s body.
‘Thunder.’
Current flowed through the deeply inserted galchi sword, damaging the robot’s circuits.
*Pop!*
With a sound of something bursting, red liquid flowed from the robot’s body.
“C-c-customer. The payment is on the first floor!!”
The robot slumped like a dead bug.
I frowned deeply. I felt a strange sense of unease. I moved my blade. Avoiding the armor, I cut the joints and dismantled the robot.
Inside the robot, along with complex machinery, there was a brain.
It looked similar to a human brain… but it was small.
‘Is it the brain of another animal? Like a monkey? Did they use an animal’s brain instead of AI?’
I thought, ‘What kind of nonsense is this?’ but then I remembered the characteristics of this world and nodded. It was a technology that was entirely possible.
Leaving the robot behind, I moved forward. This time, a man appeared. Dressed in black leather, he stared at me emotionlessly.
“Even I wouldn’t have been able to do something like this… You’re quite impressive.”
Despite not having any particular equipment, he had a confident and relaxed attitude. Sensing something was off, I threw the last C4 in my backpack at him. The C4 stopped in mid-air, as if caught by something invisible.
‘Telekinesis?’
“You’re carrying dangerous things. I’ll take care of this.”
*Crack.*
The C4 was completely disassembled and fell to the floor. He had dismantled the C4 in an instant without touching the detonator.
“To be able to use telekinesis like that… It’s impossible for an ordinary Awakened. Are you a player?”
The four classes of players: Lord, Esper, Technologist, and Bionics. The man was definitely an Esper, one of them.
Espers might have less potential than other classes, but they are the most powerful class in the early stages.
I thought I would encounter one someday, but I never imagined I’d meet one here.
Tensing my body, I held my blade and took a stance.
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