Chapter 421 – Difference in Case (3)
Unlike the initial operation, where it was agreed to drive out the enemy as quickly as possible, everyone agreed that the operation to attack the upper levels would be carried out step by step over time.
There are many reasons for the change, but the biggest one is probably time.
When we launched our first operation, time was our enemy.
We never knew when the enemy would be able to understand our movements in detail, so we had to attack them quickly and inflict a big blow at once before they noticed.
Unlike then, time is now on our side.
All large and small passages leading to the black market are occupied.
Key figures in the black market, including Hexagram, are staging a sit-in protest at the upper levels.
No matter how thoroughly they prepare, there are ultimately limits to how well they can survive in a closed space.
Unlike him, we can procure anything we want from outside, so we can afford it.
In the end, even if you don’t force entry by increasing the damage to your allies, if you pound and scare them enough, it will open at some point.
“… “This is the explanation of the operation.”
Well.
If you look at the content itself, it is a very reasonable method.
“I don’t really feel like it.”
First of all, the fact that Han Joo-hee obediently agreed to this operation stimulates my anxiety.
“Why on earth did she follow her?”
They didn’t show much activity, and they didn’t do anything that could help the other side.
If I had to describe her as she is now, she would be neutral.
Whether it’s a hexagram or a union of countries.
It feels like I don’t want to be of any help to either side, and I don’t want to belong to either side.
“… Or is it inevitable?”
At the end of my line of sight, I catch Seoyeon sitting and talking with her team members.
Perhaps Seoyeon’s presence is interfering with her activities.
When I try to help Hexagram, I’m worried that my daughter, who doesn’t listen to me and runs wild, will get hurt.
However, if you stand on this side, you will be branded a traitor by them.
“That makes sense.”
I hope my guess is correct.
Then, at least for this time, I can worry less about her.
Anyway, leaving this part aside.
That’s not the only thing that’s annoying.
I also like that the walls and barriers surrounding the upper floor are too strong.
It also bothers me that their response is so relaxed.
There’s one more thing.
“Uh… “Is it here too?”
“It’s here too, hehe…” , No, Dojin!”
“I found it too.”
Our operations are not limited to simply attacking the upper class.
Many villains died in the process of occupying the main black market base, but there were just as many who escaped.
One of the strategies is to go around places that could be hiding places and hunt them down.
In the process, we started discovering some very strange corpses.
“Umm… , This corpse doesn’t have a single drop of blood left either.”
“Mummy, absolutely.”
“It’s gross…”
There was no blood left on the corpse.
What all of those corpses have in common is that they are all dried out, as if their blood was forcibly sucked by something.
And.
“Oh, all these corpses have been stabbed in the heart.”
There were traces of being deeply stabbed by something in the chest and heart of the corpse.
Judging by the depth and thickness of the wound, I guess it looks like a dagger or similar weapon…
It is a wound fatal enough to take the other person’s life, but it is not the cause of death.
Everyone died for different reasons.
That means they inserted a blade into the heart of an already dead corpse and sucked the blood in some way.
At first, I thought a hunter with the ability to manipulate blood was joining the operation.
So, I asked Juyeon a favor.
“Juyeon noona. “Did you understand what I asked you to do?”
“Huh… “It is said that there are no hunters with blood-related characteristics not only in Korea but also in Japan and China.”
Surprisingly, the answer is that there is no ally with such characteristics.
“Umm…”
There are none among our allies.
That means we cannot rule out the possibility that it is an enemy or a third party.
“This is giving me a headache.”
If it is not an ally, there is a high probability that it will function as an obstacle to us in some way.
The worst case scenario is when a third party or group of third parties invades and acts secretly.
Or, we should keep in mind that they are Hexagram’s reinforcements isolated in the upper layer.
“This isn’t going to work…”
Factors that create anxiety keep appearing, making it difficult to proceed with the operation leisurely.
If we make a mistake, we may wither and die instead of killing the other person.
After taking one last look at the dried out corpse, he stands up.
“Let’s go back.”
I think the time has come to see the outcome.
* * *
Saint Sophia gave Kim Do-jin a lot of help throughout this operation.
He relayed opinions on behalf of those who could not participate in the strategy meeting, explained the atmosphere at the time in detail, etc.
He continued to provide only altoran-like help to Kim Do-jin.
So this time, while trying to convey her opinion through her mouth, she changed her plan.
By using her power to bring together the leaders of each country and talk to them directly.
“I heard there’s something urgent to convey to us…” , What is that?”
He stood up and answered Defense Minister Chen Lao’s question.
“I would like to suggest a change in operation.”
“Operation… ?”
A noisy atmosphere.
At this, Han Ju-hee, who had been glaring at this direction with a disapproving gaze the whole time, asked in a sharp tone.
“What do you mean, suddenly?”
Let’s talk about it somewhere.
But I won’t follow whatever you say.
… The tone of voice and facial expression clearly reveal this mindset.
It doesn’t matter though.
Even before this part started, she had been dismissed as lacking in power.
“The reason we need to change the operation is… , The first one takes too long.”
The strength of the walls and barriers surrounding the upper floor.
Examine it very closely and calculate the time it takes to pierce it.
“If things continue like this, it will take at least a month.”
One month.
If it’s long, it’s long, if it’s short, it’s short.
The time it would take to eradicate Asia’s largest black market may have been short, but contingencies had to be prepared.
“I can’t help but think about the case where enemy reinforcements arrive from outside and target us.”
This may be true in other countries, but since it is China, we must be even more suspicious.
The land is large and the population is large.
The number of public officials who manage them is also higher than in other countries, and most of them are corrupt.
If you manage them properly, it is not that difficult to set foot in China.
After instilling some reasonable doubt in those gathered here, he mentions another danger.
“And recently, unusual corpses have been discovered on the black market.”
“If it’s an unusual corpse… “Are you talking about the desiccated body we reported earlier?”
“Yes.”
It is only a possibility.
They may be a third force or Hexagram’s support force preparing to intercept our allies.
However, possibility alone cannot move an opponent.
“I am convinced that they are members of Hexagram. Could it be that the dried corpse is gathering strength in preparation for a full-scale battle? , I would like to.”
It may have been a leap, but it was not an issue that could be easily overlooked.
As of today, the number of desiccated corpses discovered is over a hundred.
Considering the bodies that have not yet been found, that number is only minimal.
That much blood is enough to make it worth thinking about as a group.
“For this reason, it occurred to me that time may not always be on our side. That’s why I suggested a change in strategy.”
“You mean it might be better to rush in and get it over with quickly.”
“That’s right.”
Heads nodding in unison.
None of those gathered here want to stay here for long.
This is even more so since the possibility has been planted that time may not be on their side.
Around the time when the flow here began to flow in the direction Kim Do-jin wanted.
Han Ju-hee, who had been quietly listening to the story, opened her mouth.
“I understand what you mean. “It’s a completely understandable story.”
“Thank you.”
“However… “Isn’t there one thing you overlooked?”
“You overlooked it?”
When Kim Do-jin asks her again, as if she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she raises one corner of her mouth and continues her words.
“A passageway to the upper floors.”
“Ah… !”
“Yes, there was that.”
People who sigh.
Feeling that her flow is returning to its original direction, Han Ju-hee ends her sentence in a relaxed manner.
“If we cannot open that passage, we will ultimately have no choice but to continue this slow war of attrition.”
There is only one passage to the upper floor.
It’s just a door that never opens unless you enter a pre-set magic pattern.
The existing cards that open the way to the upper floors have long since ceased to work.
As if they had anticipated this time, they changed the magic pattern of the door.
The number of patterns that can be set is close to infinite.
If you try to input all the patterns one by one, if you are unlucky, you will not be able to open it even if it takes several years.
“In that case, it would be better to push the enemy back through a war of attrition like now…”
It’s better.
That’s what she tried to argue.
“I already know that pattern.”
“… ?”
Until Kim Do-jin claimed so in a confident tone.
