Chapter 72

Chapter 72

He'd been told about it beforehand, but Yi-hyeon still nearly took offense.

Baby? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Wasn't Baby his nickname back when he served in the 707th?

He'd been so much younger than the other veteran noncommissioned officers that everyone had naturally started calling him 'Baby.' But how long had it been since he'd left the military?

This was undoubtedly a temporary password devised by Lee Jung-ho, who knew Yi-hyeon's entire career inside and out.

The middle-aged man looked like an ordinary Macau local. He was thin, with hollow cheeks.

He turned and nodded toward someone behind him. Another man entered the room, carrying a worn leather bag.

"This gentleman will treat him."

Yi-hyeon nodded. Right now, Lee Seung-uk's treatment was the priority.

The doctor they'd brought was completely bald and looked to be over eighty, but his hands were practiced and steady as he began treating Lee Seung-uk.

"His chest was probably the most severely injured part originally, but whoever administered the initial treatment did an excellent job. The chest bones are already beginning to mend, and his internal organs are stable. However, this leg will be left with a substantial scar."

He was referring to the badly damaged thigh.

"Will there be any lasting complications?"

At Yi-hyeon's question, the doctor shook his head while connecting the blood bags he'd brought to an intravenous line in Lee Seung-uk's arm.

"We'll need to observe him a little longer, but I think he'll be fine."

The middle-aged man who had arrived first had been listening silently. Now he asked,

"Doctor, how many days before he can travel?"

Yi-hyeon had been wondering the same thing. From this point onward, they needed to move quickly along the escape route Lee Jung-ho had prepared.

"First, let's move the patient somewhere else. After three or four days of rest there, he should be fit to travel."

Yi-hyeon nodded.

Considering Lee Seung-uk's condition when he'd first been injured, such a recovery was almost unbelievable. After Sun Zhao attacked him, he'd literally been standing with one foot in the grave. The reason he was recovering so remarkably was the effect of Yi-hyeon's qi.

- The human body on Earth responds to your qi, Yi-hyeon. Even I didn't anticipate this. Perhaps you should become a doctor.

'Haha, a doctor? I have no intention of making money that way.'

Sion grew serious at Yi-hyeon's reply.

- I'm not telling you to earn money. I'm already earning more than enough of that. I'm saying you should use your healing abilities to expand your influence.

'Influence?'

Yi-hyeon asked in confusion, and Sion answered matter-of-factly.

- Survival is the most fundamental and powerful desire of every living creature. That's why humans inevitably become profoundly indebted to someone who saves their lives.

Only then did Yi-hyeon understand what Sion meant. Most patients placed considerable trust in their doctors. Presumably, Sion was referring to something like that.

There was no need for Yi-hyeon to become a licensed physician, but if he really could save people who were on the brink of death, like Lee Seung-uk, the value of that ability would be enormous.

'But I can't just wait around for someone important to get injured as badly as Lee Seung-uk, can I?'

Sion snorted at Yi-hyeon's entirely reasonable question.

- Hmph. Think a little harder, Yi-hyeon. You used qi to revive dying human tissue and accelerate its recovery at an astonishing rate. That means if you study the process carefully, you may be able to achieve similar results with diseases affecting the body's internal organs.

'Really?'

Yi-hyeon grew excited. Sion's explanation sounded entirely plausible.

If he acquired such an ability, it would be like gaining another cheat code. What if he possessed not only the power to kill practically anyone in the world, but also the ability to save any patient?

Wouldn't that make me something like a demigod, deciding who lives and who dies?

Sion's cold words interrupted Yi-hyeon's swelling dreams.

- You still have a long way to go, Yi-hyeon.

'Yes···.'

Just then, Lee Seung-uk's phone rang. Yi-hyeon answered and discovered that it was Yu Min-seon.

"Representative Song! It's so good to hear your voice! Our Sky Team is already guarding the area around the hotel. Two men just went inside, didn't they?"

She certainly worked fast. After flying into Macau on an early-morning flight, she'd already gathered her team around Yi-hyeon and taken it upon herself to provide protection.

"You're working hard."

Yu Min-seon's boisterous voice rang out in response to his praise.

"Hard? Not at all. If you really want to thank me, buy me a drink of baijiu when we get back to Seoul. I'd been hoping to enjoy some roast duck and baijiu while I was in Macau, if I had the time."

Yi-hyeon's mood had lightened, and he laughed.

"Haha. I've heard you're quite a drinker, Team Leader Yu. Let's have a drink with Lee Seung-uk when we're back in Seoul."

"Yes, sir!"

The woman might be rough around the edges, but her cheerfulness had a way of putting the people around her at ease.

Unfortunately, perhaps all the people coming and going had attracted someone's attention. Eventually, the police began moving toward them.

Naturally, Sion spoke up.

- People are approaching.

'Not very many, though.'

Sharing Sion's perception, Yi-hyeon called Yu Min-seon again.

"Team Leader Yu, one of our intelligence operatives guarding the outer perimeter just spotted a police car heading this way. Someone must have reported seeing unfamiliar people."

"What? Damn it! Who the hell let themselves get followed? It must be one of the local operatives. Good grief, those clumsy fools."

Yu Min-seon ended the call and came running up to the second floor. Without even stopping to greet him, she spoke.

"I've just confirmed the situation. Our local agents will draw their attention, so let's slip out quietly. All our people here have diplomatic passports, so they shouldn't have any serious problems afterward. Of course, the Chinese will eventually realize our agency was involved."

There was no way the Chinese authorities would remain unaware of NIS activities like these. Ultimately, the plan was for Yi-hyeon to escape while the NIS covered his retreat.

About fifteen minutes later, the police arrived with their flashing emergency lights. Fortunately, there was only one vehicle. As Yu Min-seon had explained, a local NIS operative went out to deal with them.

The fact that only a single police car had arrived meant the authorities didn't believe Yi-hyeon was there. If they'd confirmed his presence, an enormous force would have descended on the building immediately.

At that moment, the guide who had arrived earlier made a suggestion.

"While they're distracting the police, you should come with me, sir. Additional people will be arriving shortly. The patient will be transferred to another safe house and leave by a separate route in three days."

That was the best possible arrangement.

With an escape route established, they needed to move quickly. The situation was changing constantly, and even that route might soon become unusable.

Despite the man's urging, Yi-hyeon examined Lee Seung-uk once more. He placed a hand on his chest and calmly infused him with qi, drawing the process out in a thin, steady stream.

The guide waited silently throughout. When Yi-hyeon finally stood, he hurried to lead the way.

The streets around the shabby hotel were noisy with workers returning from their shifts. The arrival of a police car had attracted even more onlookers, turning the area into a crowded spectacle.

Amid the commotion, Yi-hyeon and his guide slipped away unnoticed. After about fifteen minutes in a van, the vehicle stopped, and Yi-hyeon looked around. Far to the north, the lights of magnificent buildings illuminated the skyline, but the area around them was a desolate coastal construction site.

"All right. We'll get out here and cross that hill. There's a boat waiting on the other side. You'll receive a new passport there before continuing."

Another new passport. The Australian passport belonging to Shane J. O'Brien could no longer be used.

The two men got out of the van and crossed a rocky hill beside the coast. On the other side, a small, sleek boat came into view. Even its hull had been painted a dark color. As soon as they climbed aboard, the man at the controls started the engine and set off.

"We'll head west, transfer to another boat, and enter the South China Sea. From there, we'll transfer to a larger vessel. Every available police unit has been mobilized to inspect the waters around Macau."

That explained why they needed to change boats several times. Yi-hyeon had nothing to say, so he simply nodded.

After traveling for several hours, they reached international waters, where an aging cargo ship waited in the dark sea.

"Well, this is as far as I go. That ship is heading to Manila. Someone else will take over from there. I've never seen our organization mobilize so many people for one operation before. I hope you make it home safely."

The guide grinned broadly.

And so Yi-hyeon traveled to Manila over the course of two days and one night.

The following morning, Yi-hyeon arrived at Manila Airport in the Philippines. He went to the agreed-upon restroom on the terminal's first floor, where a young man approached him.

"Baby?"

Good grief. This bastard was calling him Baby, too.

The man was short, wore sunglasses, and chewed gum noisily. Nevertheless, Yi-hyeon had the peculiar impression that he was some kind of government official.

He handed over a small plastic bag and spoke quietly.

"Use this passport from now on. It's Japanese, and there's also a ticket for a flight departing in an hour and a half. But your face looks quite different from the photograph. Well, the people upstairs said you'd take care of that yourself."

Yi-hyeon silently accepted the passport, and the man turned away.

Yi-hyeon examined his reflection in the restroom mirror. The face staring back at him bore no resemblance to his real appearance. With his thoroughly Western features and dyed hair, he looked completely foreign.

He studied the passport photograph and began manipulating his face. He needed to become the Japanese man pictured inside. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do about his dyed hair.

After adjusting his features, Yi-hyeon headed toward the gate where an All Nippon Airways aircraft was waiting at the boarding bridge. He would soon be back in Seoul. Feeling a little more relaxed, he called Yu Min-seon, who was still in Macau taking care of Lee Seung-uk.

"Don't worry, Representative. Seung-uk is incredibly healthy, you know. The doctor said he'd need three or four days of rest before he could travel, but he woke up this morning and has already started moving around. Even the doctor is astonished by how quickly he's recovering. He'll leave by another route soon."

"That's good news. I'll see you in Seoul, then."

* * *

Around the time Yi-hyeon boarded his flight from Manila to Incheon Airport, an uproar erupted in Beijing.

"What did you say? Son of Heaven Number Five is dead?"

The voice was low but carried a growling edge. The man standing before its owner answered with obvious fear.

"Yes. The Secret Shadow Unit personnel stationed there have made the final confirmation. I've ordered them to retrieve the body before the local police can interfere with it."

These were people who commanded the MSS's top-secret Secret Shadow Unit and could even deploy Son of Heaven Number Five. And now they were utterly bewildered.

They had sent the Secret Shadow Unit and even Son of Heaven Number Five, yet failed to capture the targets. Worse still, Number Five had been killed?

"How did Number Five die? Was he shot?"

At the next question, the subordinate answered even more cautiously.

"I found it strange myself, so I ordered an investigation. The leader of Team Two in the Secret Shadow Unit reported that he appears to have died during hand-to-hand combat."

Bang!

The man slammed his hand against the table.

"He wasn't shot? You're telling me he was beaten to death in hand-to-hand combat? How is that even possible?"

"······."

A suffocating silence settled over the dimly lit room.

How much time passed like that? By the time the tea in the cup on the table had gone cold, the seated man finally spoke.

"It must be another relic. Number Five possessed the power I bestowed upon him, so an ordinary human couldn't possibly have killed him before the side effects emerged. That means the relic we've been searching for has finally appeared. Someone has emerged who has inherited its power."

At the mention of a relic, the man standing before him could only swallow nervously.

"Withdraw every member of the Secret Shadow Unit from Macau. They're incapable of capturing someone who has inherited the power of a relic. They'll only create more noise. From now on, we'll maintain absolute secrecy as we search for him."

"Yes, sir."

And so a man who effectively possessed the power to move part of China began pursuing Yi-hyeon with a new and extraordinary determination.

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