Chapter 67

Chapter 67

"Some suspicious bastards have boarded the train."

When Yi-hyeon told Lee Seung-uk, who was sitting beside him, the man's expression immediately tightened.

"Suspicious people···?"

"There are··· six of them. These bastards are no pushovers. Be careful."

Lee Seung-uk grew even more tense at Yi-hyeon's warning.

Yi-hyeon had sensed not only their presence but also the force they radiated. This, too, was an advancement. He could now gauge an enemy's strength from such a considerable distance.

"We don't have any weapons, do we?"

"No, sir. I gave everything we had to Choi Hyeong-su and Lee Jong-bae. There was a chance we'd be searched."

Yi-hyeon nodded at Lee Seung-uk's answer.

"I'll take the lead. You provide backup."

"But···."

Yi-hyeon looked calmly at Lee Seung-uk, who had swallowed hard.

"It's all right. There's nobody in this world who can capture me. Not even with a gun."

That was Yi-hyeon's judgment based on his advanced abilities, and it was probably the truth. If he concentrated, he could sense a sniper positioned as far as 1.5 kilometers away. In other words, even a world-class marksman wouldn't get the opportunity to fire.

Yi-hyeon closed his eyes briefly, then stood.

"These bastards are closing in from both directions. We'd better take care of one group first. Follow me."

"······."

Lee Seung-uk still didn't understand what was happening, but he immediately rose and followed Yi-hyeon.

"If we stay in our seats, we'll be sitting ducks. Let's catch them in the passage between the train cars."

"Yes, sir."

Lee Seung-uk nodded. Yi-hyeon was right. If the enemy singled them out and attacked while they were sitting in their seats, they'd be almost helpless.

Rattle, rattle—

When Yi-hyeon and Lee Seung-uk entered the passage connecting their car to the one ahead, a man who had been smoking there quickly extinguished his cigarette and went into the next car. Apparently, since there was nowhere on the high-speed train where he was allowed to smoke, he'd sneaked into the passage for a cigarette.

As the man briefly opened the door to the forward car, Yi-hyeon glimpsed two men approaching through the gap.

The men barely glanced at the other passengers as they walked quickly toward him. They had apparently already identified Yi-hyeon and Lee Seung-uk, although there was no telling where their trail had been picked up.

At that moment, the men approaching their car were receiving continuous instructions through their earpieces.

"Good! Get to that car quickly. Of all the passengers who boarded in Beijing at that hour, those two are the only ones whose identities we haven't been able to verify. If they're not our suspects, then nobody on this train is."

These men belonged to the Secret Shadow Unit.

While checking every form of public transportation that had departed Beijing after the incident, the authorities had identified two young men whose identities couldn't be confirmed. Six members of the Secret Shadow Unit had therefore traveled by helicopter and boarded the train at Wuhan Station.

They weren't convinced that Yi-hyeon's group was responsible. They were acting on the possibility that the two men might be the culprits. Similar investigations were taking place at countless locations throughout the region surrounding Beijing.

A short while later, the carriage door opened, and two men stepped out. Both were powerfully built with short hair. The man in front flinched the instant he saw Yi-hyeon, then immediately reached inside his jacket.

The movement was blindingly fast!

There wasn't a single wasted motion, and his expression remained perfectly calm throughout. He was clearly a professional.

Unfortunately for them, their luck had run out. These men considered themselves elite operatives, carefully selected from within the MSS, but today they'd encountered a genuine expert far beyond anything they could imagine.

"These bastards···."

Yi-hyeon muttered as he seized the leading man's arm.

"Uugh!"

The man's eyes widened as his arm was caught before he could draw his pistol. He tried to say something, but for some reason, no words emerged. And then,

Crunch!

"Pulling out a gun wherever you please, are you?"

Hearing Yi-hyeon's quiet mutter, the man could only watch as his wrist snapped like a brittle reed.

At that moment, the second man was just emerging through the doorway. Sensing something wrong with his companion's movements, he immediately drew his pistol. But his colleague's back blocked his view, leaving him momentarily uncertain.

Thud!

Something came flying into his face, and he lost consciousness. Yi-hyeon had pushed his first opponent, already unconscious from the qi he'd directed into him, aside and driven his left fist into the second man's face.

Yi-hyeon collected the pistols from both men and spoke to Lee Seung-uk.

"Put these bastards in the bathroom and break the door."

"Y-yes, sir."

Recovering from his astonishment, Lee Seung-uk moved swiftly. He shoved both men, one on top of the other, into the cramped bathroom and smashed the door handle. The door was made of metal, after all, so nobody would be able to open it before the train reached its destination.

"Now let's deal with the bastards coming from behind."

"Yes, sir. I'll go first."

This time, Lee Seung-uk took the lead, armed with one of the captured pistols.

"But the way these men move is unusual. I don't think they're ordinary police officers."

Lee Seung-uk spoke as they walked. He, too, had recognized their training.

"I told you they weren't ordinary opponents. They're from some special forces unit or intelligence organization. It looks like our movements have been exposed, so we'll have to get off at the next station."

"Yes, sir. We'll be arriving at Changsha Station soon. Let's get off there, after taking care of these bastards."

They passed through the carriage where their seats were located and continued toward the rear of the train. Their intention was to intercept the men approaching from that direction.

Just then, an announcement sounded over the speakers. It was delivered in both Chinese and English, so the two could understand it. The train would soon arrive at Changsha Station.

As he walked, Lee Seung-uk took out his phone and called Choi Hyeong-su. He explained their situation and checked whether the other operatives were having any trouble escaping.

"Everyone else is getting out without incident. Looks like we're the only ones these bastards caught up with."

"That's good. We'd better hurry, too. We're almost at the station."

"Yes, sir."

They moved two more carriages toward the rear before taking up position.

An employee passed by pushing a cart laden with food, while another passenger carried a cup of instant noodles filled with hot water. Since China's high-speed rail routes covered enormous distances, eating meals aboard the trains was perfectly normal.

"They're coming. Three of them."

Yi-hyeon murmured, and Lee Seung-uk gripped his pistol inside his jacket. Fortunately, these bastards had fitted suppressors to their weapons.

Yi-hyeon's concern wasn't whether he could capture them. He was worried that ordinary passengers might pass through the corridor in the middle of the fight. It was around lunchtime, and plenty of people were moving around to get food.

His concerns proved justified. Just as the three men he'd detected opened the door to the connecting passage, a young mother appeared from the opposite direction, holding her child's hand.

The men moved quickly when they saw Lee Seung-uk standing squarely in front of the door.

"Get them!"

The man in front shouted, and the two behind him drew their pistols in an instant.

Pfft!

Lee Seung-uk fired at the leading man. But he couldn't shoot the others yet. The man he'd hit was collapsing backward, blocking his line of fire toward the two behind him.

At the same moment, Yi-hyeon seized the mother and child who had emerged from the forward carriage with his left hand and pulled them into a corner, moving them out of the line of fire.

"Aaah!"

"Mom!"

As the terrified mother and child cried out, Lee Seung-uk became even more anxious. Just then, Yi-hyeon shouted.

"Move!"

Hearing Yi-hyeon's voice behind him, Lee Seung-uk instinctively bent at the waist and ducked to his right. With an enemy directly in front of him, it was a move that went against every combat instinct he possessed. But his conscious judgment overrode that instinct.

He had to obey Yi-hyeon without question!

And that decision brought the confrontation to an end.

Pfft! Pfft!

Just two bullets pierced the heads of the men in the rear, who had drawn their weapons and were preparing to fire.

Crash!

But the shots created another problem.

One bullet passed through a man's head and penetrated the window of the passenger carriage behind him. Naturally, the passengers inside erupted into panic. At almost exactly that moment, the train began slowing down. They had reached Changsha Station.

"There's still one bastard left···."

Yi-hyeon muttered, but Lee Seung-uk shouted,

"We have to get off now!"

"All right. Let's go."

The two waited for the train to stop and the doors to open. At that moment, Yi-hyeon met the young mother's eyes and gave her a small nod, telling her not to worry.

Once they stepped off the train, they walked briskly through the station concourse toward the exit. There were too many people to run. Besides, the discovery of the men who'd been shot would cause chaos at any moment.

"This way, sir."

Lee Seung-uk was practically running as he followed the overhead signs.

The two quickly left the station and climbed into a taxi.

"Zhuzhou."

Lee Seung-uk gave their destination, then repeated it more loudly when the driver tilted his head in confusion.

"I said Zhuzhou."

"Ah, Zhuzhou!"

The driver responded enthusiastically. These passengers appeared to be foreigners, and they wanted a long trip out of the city. Today was his lucky day. Zhuzhou was a city south of Changsha.

Lee Seung-uk sat in the front passenger seat while Yi-hyeon occupied the back. Both watched the scenery outside in silence.

After roughly thirty minutes, Lee Seung-uk called to the driver.

"Stop. Pull over here."

"Ah, but this isn't Zhuzhou···."

The driver began protesting noisily, but Lee Seung-uk tapped his shoulder and told him to stop. Then he took out a stack of yuan and paid him.

"Thank you."

Having received far more than the actual fare, the driver smiled, thanked them, and promptly drove away.

"We'll find another vehicle and continue from here."

They hadn't even reached Zhuzhou, but that was entirely intentional. When escaping, it was essential to keep confusing anyone attempting to trace their movements. The two walked along the side of a major road, surveying their surroundings. Rows of small factories lined the area, which was cluttered with buildings, vehicles, and pedestrians.

"Let's take that one."

Lee Seung-uk indicated an old passenger car parked beside a stream carrying a trickle of blackish water. Yi-hyeon merely nodded.

Lee Seung-uk certainly thought quickly. The car was coated in a thick layer of dust, suggesting it had been parked there for quite some time. Its owner must have left it for at least several days. Stealing a car like this would probably allow them to move unnoticed for a while.

Opening the door and starting the engine? Lee Seung-uk handled both in almost no time, as casually as if he were unlocking his own car.

"This is why old junkers are so convenient."

"You're right."

Yi-hyeon grinned, showing his teeth.

Just as they set off, Lee Seung-uk's phone rang. It was a prepaid phone that one of the advance operatives had obtained before their arrival.

"Ah, yes, sir. President."

It was Lee Jung-ho. Lee Seung-uk briefly explained that they hadn't made it to Shenzhen and had been forced to leave the train after passing Wuhan.

"What? You don't want us going to Shenzhen? Then··· Understood. I'll put the representative on."

When Yi-hyeon took the phone Lee Seung-uk handed him, Lee Jung-ho's calm voice came through.

"Representative, we have to assume that our original plan to reach Hong Kong through Shenzhen has been exposed. You'll need to switch to Plan B. I'll give Lee Seung-uk separate instructions, but for now, head to Macau."

"Macau."

Yi-hyeon repeated the name, and Lee Jung-ho continued. His voice sounded no different from usual, and hearing it made Yi-hyeon feel calmer as well.

That was one of Lee Jung-ho's abilities.

As an operations officer, he inspired confidence in the people working in the field. Even in an emergency, he could keep his operatives steady and focused on carrying out their assignments.

"I have resources in Macau, just as I do in Hong Kong. I'm arranging something now, so contact me once you arrive."

"Understood."

The two continued south, stopping twice to refuel. They also ate at roadside food stalls along the way, which added to their travel time. But there was another reason the journey took longer.

"Take the small road to the right up ahead. There's a newly completed road farther along that should be open to traffic."

"Yes, sir."

At first, Lee Seung-uk had been bewildered by Yi-hyeon's unusual directions. Now he simply followed whatever route Yi-hyeon told him to take.

The secret?

Sion, of course!

- They've just established a checkpoint barricade on that road. You need to turn right.

Yi-hyeon had access to Sion's navigation system, which was superior to any navigation device in the world. Thus, although they repeatedly abandoned major highways to wind through narrow side streets, they were making their way toward Macau with almost no risk.

But even that advantage soon came to an end. Once they passed Guangzhou, the large city north of Shenzhen, soldiers and police officers had been mobilized on practically every street. There was no longer any route that could avoid them entirely.

Apparently, the authorities had already identified Shenzhen as Yi-hyeon's intended destination.

- Hmm··· From here on, you'll have to find your own way.

Sion made that rather irresponsible(?) remark and promptly withdrew, but Yi-hyeon wasn't particularly worried.

They were already close to Macau, after all.

At this distance, he could make it there by running through the mountains if he really had to.

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