***
“Lead the way. If you don't want the rest of your teeth to be knocked out.”
“Mmph…”
As Do-hwa twisted Choi Gyeong-u’s arm behind his back and spoke, he began to lead the way, nodding his head with all his might. If he twisted it even a little more, it felt like his arm would break along with muscle rupture.
Choi Gyeong-u glanced at his brutally beaten subordinates and headed toward the emergency stairs that went up to the ground floor.
They encountered nightclub bouncers halfway, but as soon as they saw Choi Gyeong-u’s face, they were terrified and busy running away.
Soon after arriving in front of the nightclub office, Choi Gyeong-u pointed to the firmly closed door and muttered something. It seemed to be saying, ‘It’s here.’
Thwack!
“Gk!”
Do-hwa struck the back of Choi Gyeong-u’s neck mercilessly, knocked him unconscious, and shoved him into a corner. Looking at his face, I didn't know if he would be able to eat properly in the future.
Bang!
Thud!
While I was staring intently at Choi Gyeong-u’s face, Do-hwa, perhaps because he was in such a hurry, kicked the door with a roundhouse kick. The door fell off completely and collapsed inward.
Inside the office, a middle-aged man with yellow hair was sitting, and behind him, a short Southeast Asian man was standing sturdily. Seeing them watching us calmly, it seemed they already knew we would come.
Well, they must have seen the CCTV, heard the commotion, or the bouncer must have snitched. It could have been all three.
It seemed he trusted the guy standing behind him, but the aura he exuded was not ordinary.
“Are you the boss here?”
“What kind of guys are you? What do you want?”
“World peace.”
Do-hwa answered like the Eagle Five.
“Kekekekeke! You crazy bastards. Who sent you guys?”
“We were sent by the orphanage. You fucking son of a bitch.”
This time, I answered. As expected, the completeness of a sentence can be improved by including profanity toward bad guys.
“Ah! You guys are the ones who were guarding that orphanage. Just what is so great about that orphanage that you are so obsessed with it? There’s no need to push yourself this hard, is there?”
He said as if he couldn't understand. It was clear that guys like this wouldn't know even if I told them for the rest of their lives. I waved my hand lightly and said:
“That’s nothing you need to know, just tell me who the guys who made offerings to you are. And if you have any recording files or evidence, hand them over. Then I won't kill you.”
“Hmph, do you think I’ll hand them over obediently?”
I tested him just in case, and he fell for it immediately.
“It seems you do have evidence after all.”
“What… you son of…”
Suddenly unable to speak, his face turned red and his fists trembled.
“You young bastards… I thought I’d try recruiting you since your fighting skills were excellent. I guess you can't be reasoned with.”
“Recruiting, my foot. Do you think we’d do such dirty work? Since it seems like neither of us will back down, let’s end this quickly.”
At the same time, my body shot forward rapidly.
The moment I tried to extend my foot over the desk, a chilling feeling swept through my entire body, and I quickly stopped my legs and leaned my body backward.
Whoosh—
At that moment, a kick strong enough to create wind grazed the tip of my nose.
The moment I tried to regain my body’s balance quickly after avoiding the attack, this time, the opponent’s elbow fell in front of my eyes.
It was an elbow.
The Southeast Asian man who had been standing silently behind the boss had attacked with lightning speed.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Thwack!
At that moment, Do-hwa kicked the guy’s side. Since he had quickly lifted one leg to guard, there was no impact, but he was able to successfully create distance.
Do-hwa and I quickly stepped back and took our stances again.
“It’s Muay Thai.”
“Yeah.”
We glared at the guy, feeling slightly tense.
It felt like we would have the advantage at 2-on-1, but the aura he exuded was not ordinary. It was on a different dimension from the guys we had experienced until now.
He seemed to be a master who had experienced all kinds of hardships; he looked at us alternately and then took something out from behind him and gripped it in his hand.
It was a karambit, which I had only heard about from Do-hwa. It was a weapon like a claw that could deliver threatening attacks without interfering with his martial arts movements.
The boss, who had been watching amidst the tense atmosphere, seemed annoyed and shouted while pointing his finger.
“What are you doing! Crush them quickly!”
At the same time, the Southeast Asian man rushed in agilely. He was short in stature to begin with, and since he even lowered his stance, it was impossible to gauge where he would strike.
Snap, thwack!
A low kick aiming for the thigh as a surprise attack, a quick front kick to keep the other person in check, and then rushing in instantly to perform a flying knee kick along with a neck clinch.
It was fortunate that Do-hwa and I fought while helping each other, but he was a guy strong enough that if it had been one-on-one, we would have been hit helplessly.
Swish—
I barely managed to avoid his attack, but the karambit grazed my shoulder. My body was already covered in clear knife marks here and there.
That was the same for Do-hwa.
If it continues like this, we will lose.
After meeting Do-hwa’s eyes, I nodded.
We had prepared several joint attacks in case we encountered a truly strong opponent. It seemed today would be the first attempt at that.
Without needing to decide who went first, we widened the distance and rushed toward him from both sides. He naturally stepped back, but there was a limit to moving in the narrow space of the office.
The opportunity was only once.
As Do-hwa quickly threw a front kick, the guy twisted his body to slash down with the karambit, and at that moment, I grabbed his wrist and arm with both hands and tried to twist it in the opposite direction.
However, the guy jumped up just like that, rotated his body to release the pressure, and instead, the karambit circled around and stabbed my forearm. The moment blood began to stream down.
Whoosh— Thwack!
“Ugh!”
Do-hwa’s knee, which had risen from the blind spot, struck the guy’s chin directly. Along with a heavy feeling, the sound of his chin being smashed was heard.
“Gk…”
The guy floated up while tilting his head back just like that, and then collapsed backward helplessly. Seeing his hands and feet twitching, it seemed he had fainted immediately.
Perhaps he had a severe concussion.
“Phew~”
“Ah, fuck, this is so damn tough. It seems our training is lacking. We couldn't even take out one guy like this with the two of us.”
“The guy was strong.”
Do-hwa exhaled a short breath, and I shook my head while looking down at the Southeast Asian man.
Right then.
Tap—
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Grab!
The boss, who had secretly approached from behind to stab me with a sashimi knife, was grabbed by the scruff of his neck by me.
“You little thug.”
I threw punches at his face in succession just like that.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Ugh! Gk! Ugh!”
“Hey, hey, don't hit the mouth.”
At Do-hwa’s words, this time I drove punches into his abdomen without mercy. The boss began to retch and crawl on the floor.
I stabbed the sashimi knife I had taken from him strongly into his thigh.
Thwack!
“Arghhhhh!”
A desperate scream.
“Who ordered it? Where is the evidence you stashed away?”
“Fuck… that’s my last insurance… you sons of bitches… if I don't have that, I’m dead.”
“Right. Then let’s die now.”
Crack—
I twisted the knife that was stabbed in. As if that weren't enough, I also stabbed the knife into his other thigh and twisted it. After inflicting several knife wounds, the boss was going crazy to the point of losing consciousness.
“Aaaaagh! Stop! Stop! I’ll give it to you! I’ll give it!”
By the time the floor was soaked with blood, he shouted desperately. Then, pointing to his desk, he continued speaking.
“Desk… move the desk to the side.”
In his words, Do-hwa lightly lifted the desk and moved it to the side. Then, a small safe was buried in the floor. It didn't look like the safe could be stolen in its entirety.
“You used your head well. You bastard.”
It had a number pad and fingerprint recognition, but I kindly grabbed the scruff of his neck and moved him to the side of the safe.
“Aaaaagh! You son of a bitch!”
“Do you want to get stabbed with the knife one more time?”
“Ugh!”
As I raised the blood-stained sashimi knife, he was terrified and shook his head. Then, he quickly entered the safe password and finally managed to wipe off his blood-stained finger to finish the fingerprint recognition.
Click—
The safe door opened, and inside were several documents and a USB. I handed the USB straight to Do-hwa.
While Do-hwa was checking the audio files and recorded videos with the laptop placed on the desk, I skimmed through the documents.
The documents were filled with top-secret content regarding the new city development project, and judging by the watermark stamped on them, it appeared to be information that had come from City Hall.
“What is this, these…”
Even at a glance, I could tell it was a huge case.
“I’ve confirmed it.”
Do-hwa said while pulling out the USB.
-Aren't you finished yet? A report has been made to the police now. They will storm in soon.
At that moment, Jo Sang-nim’s voice was heard through the earphone. Before we entered this place, the three of us had been in a state of having opened a voice chat.
“Let’s go.”
At my words, Woo Do-hwa nodded.
I looked down once at the boss who was collapsed on the floor, bleeding and trembling, and then began to leave the spot without regret.
It seemed he was going to go into shock.
He would probably save his life, but he would not be able to avoid being in a wheelchair.
I kept my promise. Jo Sang-nim.
We quickly exited the neighborhood via the route we had scouted in advance.
<><><>
“Wow… what is all this?”
Jo Sang-nim’s eyes widened after seeing the USB and paper documents she received from us.
The paper documents contained top-secret content regarding the Okgwan-dong new city development project in Daejeon, and the USB was filled with videos of a woman having a conversation with a yellow-haired man in a secret room, and audio files recorded on a mobile phone until now.
When I played the audio files, they contained content about how they teamed up with thugs to secretly threaten people and receive land at bargain prices in order to buy land around Okgwan-dong.
“This is a jackpot? But who is this woman?”
Jo Sang-nim narrowed her eyes, enlarged the face of the woman in the video, and then began to capture it as it was and compare it with people in Daejeon city-related politics and economy.
Do-hwa and I were silently watching her work from behind.
Then, suddenly, the screen stopped, and the two photos were compared and popped up.
“Gasp!”
Jo Sang-nim, who had confirmed who it was, covered her mouth and inhaled sharply.
“Why? Who is it?”
When I asked, she turned her chair and spoke excitedly, as if something fun had come up.
“Jackpot! This woman, is she the Daejeon Mayor’s ex-wife?”
“What?”
Do-hwa and I furrowed our brows at the same time.
A big fish had been caught unexpectedly.
The Mayor’s ex-wife is buying up land around the new city development area that hasn't been disclosed yet and building townhouses or large-scale residential complexes?
It’s a natural statement, but if development begins, land prices will rise rapidly, and the value of townhouses will also rise.
It’s a cunning method, no matter how you look at it, to buy land around it without buying the development area. Naturally, surrounding land prices will also rise, and they can make a fortune without being suspected.
This is a circumstance where it’s highly likely that the Mayor intervened, no matter who looks at it.
“To think of using the ex-wife. It’s quite ingenious, isn't it? If we do this well, we can make a fortune! How about it, shall we work on it?”
“No.”
However, I shook my head.
“The fact that information leaked even to a thug bastard like this means that the forces trying to take unfair profits are already considerable. I don't want to see such a sight while receiving dirty money. We aren't short on money anyway, are we?”
“Tsk… that’s true. Then what are you going to do?”
At her question, I said nonchalantly.
“Let’s expose it as it is on the City Hall free bulletin board and other online sites. The video, the recording, and the copy of the development project.”
“Whaaat?”
Jo Sang-nim, who was startled, unfolded wings of imagination, and then suddenly wore a devious smile and began to rub her palms.
“Uhehe… I’m curious about the reaction to this. It’ll be a total uproar. Won’t it be thrilling?”
Her hands, which had moved up to the mouse, began to move busily.