Chapter 238: Chapter 238- Busan (Part 3)
The moment they heard that, the men's expressions changed almost instantly. They looked at each other again as they started panicking inwardly.
'Oh no! What should we do?! The message didn't get a response yet and it has been hours!' Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, the older man tried to think of a solution as quickly as possible.
His peer was sweating profusely as he tried to pretend as if he wasn't even in the room even though he was a part of the problem.
'You bastard, don't leave me alone in this!'
"Hey, open the goddamn door." The man repeated his words with a colder tone as he started losing patience slowly. He didn't know what was taking them so long to open the door and that only made him even more suspicious that something was going wrong.
"S-Sir, ehem, we are working on fixing the device. It hasn't been working properly and so the message must've been lost."
"So you want to tell me that I have been waiting this entire time for nothing?"
"No, of course not! We didn't mean to make you wait. We have only realized that it was broken after we didn't get a response." He replied.
'Good excuse!' The other man's face lit up with hope as he saw the hope of things working out in their favor.
"..."
Seconds passed slowly as the two waited for the man to reply. They felt their hearts beating in their throats as huge beads of sweat trickled down their faces. The tension was the highest it had ever been.
"Fine, how long will it take for it to get fixed? You better give me an accurate time."
"A few hours! Yes, a few hours! That's all we need and we will get a response surely!"
Then, they heard the footsteps walking away and vanishing somewhere. That's when they exhaled a long breath they held in the entire time. The tension release made their muscles almost relax.
"That was close…" The old man murmured.
"A few hours? Why not say a day at least?!" The other said.
"Shut up, you're lucky we didn't get screwed over because of your mistake!"
"My mistake?! How is it mine when the boss isn't even responding?! Should I fly there and tell him?!"
Glaring at each other, the two could only argue back and forth about it. Even when neither was at fault, they could only blame themselves since they couldn't blame anyone else, not even their boss. They had seen how terrifying Hyun-Ki was and they also assumed that this man was dangerous purely from his aura so in both cases, they were in trouble if they angered one or another.
"Ok, so what's the solution now?"
"You said we should wait, right? That's what we're going to do. Let's hope it doesn't end up making it even worse." Sitting down, the old man fired a broken cigarette as he puffed a huge cloud of smoke.
'Please, answer soon, boss!'
***
*A few hours later*
Deep into the darkness of the night, a car was moving through the broken roads of South Korea as it headed down south at a very fast speed. Even though there were countless holes, cracks, and all kinds of obstacles that could cause a problem in normal cases, Talon didn't find any issues avoiding them all almost 100% of the time.
With his extremely sharp senses, strong eyes that can see even in the dark, and the help of the two girls sitting next to him, it was basically a peaceful cruise.
By the time it was 4 AM in the morning, they saw a glimpse of Busan in the distance.
"Wow, we reached this place awfully early," Sophie said as she looked through the window.
"Stay alert, we might come across monsters on the way," Talon said as he turned around and picked up his spear before continuing to drive the car into the city. With no lights working anywhere, Busan was very eerie and quiet, almost like a haunted city.
The car slowly moved through the roads, taking turns with careful precision. This was their way of going between cities without exhausting their stamina and losing it due to a monster attack would be a problem.
"Where exactly is the base?" Hyun-Jae asked as she looked at the map in her hand.
"There, if I remember correctly, it has been the only choice for a location," Sophie replied as she pointed at the map.
"That's a few kilometers away from our current location. Take that turn, Talon." Hyun-Jae guided her companion.
A few minutes later, their eyes fell on a massive compound in the distance with its lights working. It appeared like a shiny beacon in a dark city.
"That's the location," Talon said as he squinted his eyes. "It seems very quiet."
'Though, it doesn't feel that pleasant to look at.' He added in his head.
"..." The two girls seemed to sense that too as they gripped their weapons tighter than usual.
A few seconds passed before Talon finally spoke. "Well, let's leave the car here. We cannot make too much noise."
Then, he turned around to the two girls and continued. "The plan is simple. We are going to separate and get into the resort from different locations. The goal is to find this man and kill him or better yet capture him. Both options are fine." Talon said.
Since capturing someone was way harder than killing him, he was still intending to just finish him off. But, in the optimal situation where they could get him alive, things would go much better.
"Is that clear?"
"Clear for me."
"Me too."
Nodding his head, Talon thought for a moment before he added. "I don't need to repeat this. But, please, be careful. No matter what happens, your well-being is the most important. Don't put your lives at risk for anything. Promise me that."
His eyes flashed with an unusual glint that made the two girls flinch. It was rare for Talon to show such a deep worry over something that was logically not that dangerous even in its worst-case scenario.
However, it didn't take them long to understand why. After what happened a few days ago, it was normal that he would feel scared to lose someone else dear to his heart even if that was an unfounded fear.
That fact alone made them feel a sting in their hearts. They loved that he cared about them, but they also hated that he had been hit this hard when he least expected it.
"Of course. Nothing will happen, don't worry." Hyun-Jae replied.
"She's right, we aren't going to be in danger at all."
Hearing that, Talon nodded again faintly with a complicated expression before he opened the door. "Ok, let's go."
With that, the trio dispersed across the area, leaving the car hidden from the eyes in a corner. Moving through the darkness, they slowly approached the resort from different locations.
Talon took the main entrance while Hyun-Jae and Sophie went to the east and west respectively.
Then, they started scouting the area for any potential guards. Since the location was a base and there were dozens of people living in it, it was guarded heavily. However, even then, they didn't face a problem finding a way inside.
At the main entrance, four men were located. Two were moving around the entire perimeter of the building while the rest were standing in front of the gates.
'Hmm, I shouldn't probably kill them.' Hiding on top of a tree, Talon watched their movements before he decided on his next few steps. He had to move carefully not to alert the other two since the moment they made an unusual noise, that man inside might suspect and immediately try to escape.
That was one of the problems that faced Talon. If the man they were aiming for tried to run away, getting him back might very much be impossible since he could allegedly fly.
'Let's keep it quiet.'
Jumping down, Talon aimed for when the two guards had separated away from the other two as he moved toward them silently like a shadow. His steps made no sound at all. By the time he was near them, he extended his arms as he grabbed them by the necks and closed their mouths.
The two were shocked as they tried to naturally resist. But, with two strikes to the neck, they fell unconscious before they could even make a single sound.
Grabbing the two bodies, Talon dragged them to a nearby bush before he finally started making his way to the main entrance.
A few seconds later, the other two were lying unconscious on the ground as Talon dusted his hands and quickly picked up the keys in one of the men's pockets.
'These might come in handy later.' He thought to himself as he pocketed them and leaped in the air, reaching the top of the wall.
'Ok, the first step is done. Now… Where should I start looking?'
As far as Talon could see, the resort was composed of many buildings, each one made for a different purpose. Looking around would take a long time without a precise goal in mind. So, to cut down the time, Talon decided to look in the main building first.
The young man was aware that this was a fight against time rather than a physical one. He knew that the more time he wasted, the more the man would suspect that something had gone completely wrong.
The next few minutes are going to determine what could happen.
***
Meanwhile, in an unknown location.
A small source of light manifested out of nowhere, unbeknownst to everyone on Earth, including Acrypha. The source of light then started growing slowly.
A//N: If you enjoyed reading, don't forget to support the book with GT and PS. Thank you!