Chapter 68: Episode 68 – Bucket List, Part II
Chapter 24. Bucket List, Part II
Translator: Khan
Editor: RED
3.
After crossing the long Incheon Bridge to Yeongjong Island, the Mac Guild’s hunters and soldiers who eventually arrived at Incheon International Airport saw a corpse that could also be called a small hill.
A Twin-head Ogre.
This monster was fearsome enough that even dead it still exuded an ominously strong sense of existence.
“Blarrgh…”
“Ugh.”
“Hey, wake up! Stay with me!”
The ordinary soldiers who did not have the power of Energy could still the real fear emanating from the Twin-head Ogre just by looking at its body from far away, and they had to check what they had eaten that day.
“Soldiers, fall back!”
“Only the hunters, move!”
Only Awakeners with Energy level above E rank were able to get close to the massive corpse.
“That’s awesome.”
Those who approached it were given some tasks. The first thing they did was check the toughness of the Twin-head Ogre’s hide.
The verification procedure was simple.
Tututu! They pulled the triggers of the rifles that they had brought, pointed at the body of the Twin-head Ogre.
“Uh-cha!” They beat the corpse several times with all their might, using a huge axe.
“Explode!” “Explode!” They set up a claymore they brought on on the dead body and then blew it off.
It was an eerie task, but the eeriest fact was that the dead body of the Twin-head Ogre only had a few scars after such bloody work.
If they likened the wounds to a person, the person might have been stung by a wasp.
Considering the size of the Twin-head Ogre, it was like driving railroad spikes into something the size of a building.
“I can’t speak.”
“How the hell did he kill this monster?”
In front of the scene, the Mac Guild’s hunters were forced to remain silent. Solemnly, they moved on to the next task.
“Now we begin guarding the dead body.”
The next mission was to protect the body of the Twin-head Ogre, which was now worth more than gold. It was to prevent people from stealing its body. But it was a funny mission.
“Who’s going to come to steal this?”
“My words.”
“I’d rather be a survivor than a thief.”
It was impossible to imagine to stealing a monster with a weight greater than an elephant.
“Hmm?”
“Haw?”
But their common sense crumbled so easily.
“There, there!”
While guarding the dead body of the Twin-head Ogre, they saw a group of people approaching. Their faces turned white as ghosts. Of course, at that moment they were unable to carry out the proper orders to be executed.
“No, no access!”
“Put your hands up! Hands up!
They talked all at the same time and just spewed out the thoughts in their minds. What jolted them were the words that came out of the person who appeared in front of them.
“Please don’t shoot me!”
4.
“So you were surprised at English, and couldn’t remember any security protocols? That’s great, that’s great.”
Five hunters’ heads were bowed down by Jang’s thorny words.
“The Awakeners who stay on in the face of a monster’s fear effect were afraid of English… what did they do, although they have been taught English for twelve years in elementary, the junior, and the high schools? They could not use English…”
Jang was nearly pulling out his hair in a frenzy with the five people in front of him.
‘Damn it.’
He has figured out the situation before and after. Survivors from Incheon International Airport had appeared. It was an unexpected appearance, and of course, the hunters were embarrassed. It was the English spoken by survivors that gave a decisive blow to them.
‘They were embarrassed by English. Do I have to teach English again to the native speakers? Holy shit!’
At that moment, the security system collapsed, and one of the hunters hurriedly visited Kim Tae-hoon, who was taking a rest in the VIP lounge.
It was nonsense. If the survivors approached the hunters with bad intentions, there would be a big accident. Jang’s expression inevitably crumpled.
‘Anyway, is this good news or bad news?’
But what was even worse was that one survivor was Kate Kennedy, not just anyone. She was the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Korea who Kim was looking for. To be honest, Jang wasn’t sure how to weigh things properly with the current situation he was given.
‘Is it better to just hand her over to the Capital Defense Command, and collect the relics?’
The deal itself would be valid if they rescued Kate Kennedy and transferred her to the Capital Defense Command. But the deal was an unusual deal, filled with intrigue and acrimony. It could never be a normal transaction. Even so, leaving Kate Kennedy alone was not a safe choice, either. Anyway, the Capital Defense Command was looking for her. Her intentions were also important.
‘What if she causes trouble?’
It would matter if she wanted to go to Seoul, or if she refused the Mac Guild’s order for her own purpose and pushed ahead with her actions.
‘What should I do with her when such a problem occurs? Should I make my face so blood-stained that she can’t recognize me, and then calm her down? The daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Korea?’
None of the people Kim Tae-hoon and his men met had more political implications than her. Since there was no precedent, there was no easy choice.
‘What choice will Boss make?’ However, in this situation, Kim Tae-hoon must decide after finishing weighing his options.
‘No, is he okay now?’
It was like torture.
‘I would have been mad if I had been him.’
This fourth death was the most miserable death that Kim had ever experienced. If the third death was physically painful, the fourth death was a mentally painful death. So far, if death gave new answers, the fourth death left only regrets, not answers.
It was a tag that said that Kim Tae-hoon’s life failed in the end. In a situation where he was thinking about such a desperate experience, he must make a judgment on a new problem and take responsibility for the judgment he had made.
‘I need someone to make a decision for Boss, I’m sure.’ At this moment, Jang felt the need for a leader to make a judgment on behalf of him in a similar position to Kim.
At the same time, he was able to understand one of the three bucket lists left by Kim. ‘We should make Cho Sung-yeon president?’
5.
“There was a secret bunker at Incheon International Airport, and I’ve been with the survivors there.”
Kate Kennedy was a typical blonde white beauty. Her blue eyes were large, her eyelashes were long, her blond hair was really coveted, her body was so great that it reminded everyone of a model.
But now Kim’s eyes did not rest on the fact that she was a beautiful woman. ‘There was a secret bunker.’
Once she and other survivors survived at Incheon International Airport, he could see the background; there was a secret bunker at Incheon International Airport.
‘It’ would be strange not to be there.’
It was not strange.
Incheon International Airport was one of the most frequently used airports by Korean authorities, and it was used when lawmakers or conglomerate leaders left overseas. Therefore, it was not strange to have a secret bunker for such VIPs. Most of all, the people who would be using the bunker were not paying for it, it was built by the national taxes.
There was no reason to wonder if the daughter of the US Ambassador to Korea knew about such a bunker.
And she and other survivors came to him.
‘I get this card only once.’ Anyway, from this moment on, their lives were placed in Kim’s palm. He did not intend to ignore it, and he did not intend to show mercy to the card that was put on his palm.
‘I need to find a way to make the most of it.’
He should draw the maximum profit he could pull out with this card. So at this moment, he looked at the card called Kate Kennedy from head to toe, who he now had to pull everything out of, and she felt uncomfortable. ‘Hmm?’
At that moment, he grabbed her right wrist quickly and firmly. At the same time, his eyes went black.
“Ahhh!” She screamed and tried to snatch her hand away. She succeeded in shaking off his hand, which had become even more powerful by eating the monster stone of the Twin-head Ogre.
Even though he was considerate of her and did not use his strength to not break her wrist, a normal person could never shake off his hand. That was evidence.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
That was a clear proof that she was an Awakener. “Her Energy rank… A?”
That was evidence of a great Awakener!
6.
Lieutenant Colonel Yoo…
Although he could not say that the road was decent, now he was clearly driving on a road where the car could travel.
Driving.
It was an act that began after mankind invented the car, and it was no wonderful thing for a modern man, but it had been a long time since he had been able to drive for dozens of minutes without a break.
The same was true of the man who drove the car. When he stepped on the accelerator pedal for the first in a long time, he found it exciting and amazing.
It was such a world. There were no roads that people could drive now, and even if there were, they could not afford to drive there. It was a world where the land was not ruled by humans.
‘He did it.’
In other words, this drive was the result of the win and of the reacquisition of this land by a human. Of course, that human was not a very big concept among human beings. That human was the leader of the Mac Guild.
‘The Mac Guild has occupied Incheon.’
The winner was the Mac Guild, and of course, the Mac Guild was the one who could claim the land. That was the beginning of the problem.
‘The Capital Defense Command won’t admit it easily.’
The Capital Defense Command openly pretended to be the Korean government. And, of course, Incheon was the territory of Korea. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for a group called “The Mac Guild” to own the land.
‘That’s my role.’
It was now the role of Lieutenant Colonel Yoo to obtain that recognition. The Mac Guild should be the owner of Incheon City, and then the voice of Lieutenant Colonel Yoo would be strengthened.
‘It’s hard, but it’s worth it to do.’
At this point, it was highly likely that the Capital Defense Command would allow the Mac Guild to occupy Incheon.
‘Nothing is impossible’
Currently, the power of the Capital Defense Command was concentrated in the northern part of the Han River, Gangbuk. It was hard to even get to Gangnam, the southern part of the Han River, right away. Most of the bridges above the Han River that connected Gangbuk and Gangnam had collapsed.
Against this backdrop, it was not easy for the Capital Defense Command to send troops to take control of Incheon. If it had been possible in the first place, the Mac Guild wouldn’t have had the chance to occupy Incheon. Above all, the Capital Defense Command could not afford to pay attention to Incheon.
“I hear that the troops of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division have already taken the front line, so at least for the time being all eyes will be on them.”
The front line.
The 8th Division, which was located in Pocheon, where the Korean Army was concentrated, was rapidly absorbing the front line.
‘I heard that Colonel Lim Hyun-joon occupied the 8th Division?
‘I even heard that he, who is not the Commander of the 8th Division, and only a Colonel, did all of that.’
In the case of the Capital Defense Command, there was only one card that could reverse this situation, and that was claiming legitimacy with the president or prime minister, but there was such a card.
When Lieutenant Colonel Yoo thought that far, he felt his complicated thoughts organize.
‘In the end, a new government and a new military need to be created.’
In fact, the current government and the military in the Republic of Korea were on a deadline.
It would have been strange to maintain the status quo in the first place when there was no president and no prime minister, and the generals, who could be called the highest leaders of the military, cannot play a role. It was time for a new order to be established, and of course, the order would be moved by the hands of those who have taken power.
“We’re here.” At the words of the soldier, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo got out of the military truck and looked up at the scene in front of him.
Songdo LNG Production Base!
Now was a time where energy would be more precious than gold or human life. He walked on to meet the new order leader, looking at the stage.
‘Major Kim Tae-hoon… I thought he was a man whose fate was to never be recorded in history, but he will be a man who will be marked in history.’
7.
“We secured Kate Kennedy.”
The conversation was one-sided.
“But I won’t report it to the Capital Defense Command. I’ll hide it.”
Kim Tae-hoon had a solo conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Yoo, a one-sided conversation on the spot. No, it was a one-sided notice, a request, rather than a conversation.
“From now on, Kate Kennedy will be a hunter for the Mac Guild, with her identity hidden.”
It was evidence that Kim knew well the reality of his situation more calmly than anyone else.
He had killed the Twin-head Ogre alone.
The Capital Defense Command had taken a number of troops, firepower, and its best ace, Oh Se-bum, including a helicopter, to kill a green-grade monster, a White High-footed Spider, but Kim killed it alone.
It was proof.
It was proof of what he had said.
It was proof that the price they would pay that when they set him as an enemy would not be small.
And Lieutenant Colonel Yoo was the sword that Kim would wield against the Capital Defense Command from now on. The master of the sword does not speak with the sword. He just wields the sword at his own discretion.
“And arrange for a meeting with Colonel Lim Hyun-joon of the Ottuki Unit.”
Of course, if the owner wielded the sword too freely, there would be problems.
“That’s—”
“As long as there’s a traitor in the Capital Defense Command, we’ll have to borrow external power, and there’s no outside power better than the front-line forces in this situation.”
At the words of Kim, Lieutenant Colonel Yoo wanted to ask how Kim knew that fact. But the question was pointless. Even if Kim lied with his answer, Yoo was not able to confirm the authenticity.
“… that’s great.” Therefore, Yoo asked questions he could ascertain. “So what’s your next destination?”
“I’m going to Buyeo.”
“Buyeo? For what reason?” The moment he asked the question, he immediately came up with the word “National Buyeo Museum”.
“Ah.” So he sighed and then warned, “It’s dangerous. I sent my men to search Buyeo several times, but none of them came back.”
In response to the warning, Kim looked at his hand before answering.
[Basic Abilities]
– Strength: 501
– Health: 299
[Special Abilities]
– Energy: B- Rank
– Mana: C+ Rank
– Telekinesis: A Rank
– Defense: B- Rank
– Mana Resistance: C+ Rank
[Achieved Abilities]
– Herculean Strength of Twin-head Ogre (Grade 4): You can exert the Herculean Strength of the Twin-head Ogre.
He looked at the back of his hand and said, “That’s why I’m going, and it won’t take long, so please set up a meeting with Colonel Lim Hyun-joon in June, and definitely before July.”
At the end of the conversation, a truck began to slowly approach them. There was no driver. The only thing in the truck was the monster’s hideous head.
“It’s one of the heads of the Twin-head Ogre. This is my gift to the Capital Defense Command, and the other one will be a monumental souvenir.”