Chapter 103
Harvest, for the first time in a while
After parting ways with Norman McGrath, In-hyuk hailed a taxi in front of SGA and set off.
Then, he got off once along the way, entered an alley, and switched to another taxi to return to Wong Kok.
This was the street where he had switched shifts with Noah Vantrail.
That place was always crowded, as it was famous for its night market, electronics market, and restaurants in Hong Kong.
From there, he went up to a skybridge three stories above the ground that connected two buildings and looked down below.
He could tell from their movement that these people weren't tourists or locals.
"Six in total? Two from the National Intelligence Service who have been tailing me since SGA, and the four new guys—are they from Kooou?"
Originally, after finishing the SGA business, he had planned to head straight to the airport and switch shifts again with Noah Vantrail.
But once he confirmed that even Norman McGrath had been targeted by the National Intelligence Service, he changed his plans.
"Should I do a harvest for the first time in a while?"
Murmuring quietly, In-hyuk bought a Buddhist rosary bracelet from a shop selling accessories.
After double-checking the suspicious figures below, he snapped the bracelet string and tossed one of the prayer beads beneath the feet of a man walking on the skybridge.
Crash—
"Ahh—!"
The man tripped, and a loud sound echoed.
Simultaneously, the gaze of the people searching below turned toward the back.
Sensing that their attention had shifted to him, In-hyuk started moving.
'The National Intelligence Service first.......'
Meanwhile, below, the men who had spotted In-hyuk—disguised as Gordon Grimes—on the skybridge, moved quickly.
After crossing the skybridge, In-hyuk entered a building.
There, he adjusted his walking pace with his stride, making sure the NIS agents—who had followed him up—could spot him.
By contrast, perhaps thinking their presence hadn't been exposed, the agents approached him carefully to avoid drawing attention from others.
Gradually, the distance narrowed from both front and back.
Then, using the crowd at a four-way corridor as cover, In-hyuk veered off to the right and out of their line of sight.
The agents, now having lost him, stood in the middle of the intersection, scanning the area.
After a brief discussion, they split up to search the surroundings.
"Urk—!"
At that moment, the agent who had turned right was struck in the side by something that flew out from next to him, leaving him unable to breathe.
At the same time, someone clamped a hand over his mouth, dragged him along, and he lost consciousness.
"One down."
The person who had attacked the agent was In-hyuk.
He dragged the man into a narrow alley between shops, seated him carefully, and then retrieved the phone and radio from the man's jacket.
[This is Alpha. Still haven't found him?]
The sound of the agent's colleague came from the radio.
Then, noticing the lack of reply, another question came in with a hint of suspicion.
[Beta, respond. What's your location, beta?]
In-hyuk turned off the radio, gently set it down on the man's abdomen, and moved on.
.
.
.
Amidst the crowds moving through the electronics market in Wong Kok, a man in a casual black suit stood exuding a cold aura.
He was Ruben, a Level 3 agent from WID.
Listening to the frequency given by the Organization over his radio earpiece, his expression suddenly hardened. He quickly switched to another frequency and reported in English.
"NIS A2 radio connection lost. Presumed neutralized. NIS A1, please report current location."
It had been barely five minutes since the first NIS agent's radio went dead, and now the other agent had also gone silent.
He kept his report succinct.
Not long after, his subordinate Oliver's voice came through the radio.
[This is the men's restroom at the east end, third floor. NIS A1 is unconscious...... urk!]
But Oliver's transmission was abruptly cut off by a pained grunt.
Alarmed, Ruben furrowed his brow. Oliver's voice did not come back.
"Switching to frequency Code B."
Bzzzt—
The frequency changed with a burst of static. It was a pre-arranged backup frequency to prevent enemies from eavesdropping on their communications.
"Current position?"
[Gate 1, first floor.]
[Second floor, west corridor.]
Ruben was in front of Gate 2 on the first floor.
Everyone had set up a perimeter so as not to lose sight of the target, Gordon Grimes.
"We suspect there is an unidentified security detail present. Headcount uncertain. Kedrick and Leo, join up on the second floor and proceed to the third floor, west side, toward the men's restroom."
[Roger.]
[Roger.]
As the agents replied, Ruben also started to move.
"So, someone of that caliber wouldn't be out and about alone after all."
A few days ago, after completing his mission in Hong Kong, Ruben had received a sudden new assignment along with information about the target.
It was Gordon Grimes of AMK Partners—an investment tycoon whose name alone was known across America and Asia.
The objective was to secure and detain him, then wait for the Organization's visit.
But as it was a hastily issued mission, information about the target was sorely lacking.
"Still, for Oliver not to even react with CQC—he got taken out just like that......"
WID agents were trained in TMT (Tactical Murder Techniques) for lethal tactical skills.
Of course, skills varied depending on one's degree of proficiency, but standard special forces members could generally handle themselves.
Especially those WID agents with field experience were no strangers to killing.
The fact that someone suppressed such an opponent with barely a sound meant their enemy's skills were no joke.
Ruben headed up the east staircase to the second floor, where few people were present.
Even so, he checked out every person who passed by as he ascended.
"Current location?"
Radioing in, he heard Kedrick's voice.
[Approaching the men's restroom, third floor. About 20 meters to go. No anomalies so far.]
"Don't go inside yet, wait."
[Roger.]
No suspicious individuals had yet been found nearby.
Although the chances of an enemy still being in the restroom were slim, they took thorough precautions just in case.
As he kept walking, he arrived in front of the men's restroom.
Unlike the stairwell earlier, there was no one around.
The stores nearby all had their shutters down—it seemed this was a neglected part of the mall.
"Has anyone gone in or come out?"
At that, Kedrick glanced toward the entrance.
In front of the entrance to the men's restroom, which had no door, stood a sign reading 'Under Repair.'
"Looks like the target set that up."
"Then I'll go in with Kedrick. Leo, stand by outside."
Everyone nodded.
Ruben entered with Kedrick. Inside the small restroom, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
As they checked each stall, they found the door to the farthest one open.
Inside, the NIS agent tagged as A1 and Oliver were both unconscious, sitting together (in a manner of speaking) against the wall.
"Are they alive?"
"Neither is dead. But it doesn't look like there was a fight."
Neither of their clothes was especially disheveled, nor were there any external wounds.
This indicated that they had been rendered unconscious with a special attack.
Smack— Smack—
First, Ruben slapped Oliver's cheek. Oliver's eyes fluttered open as he surveyed his surroundings.
"... Team leader?"
"Are you coming to your senses? Explain what happened."
Oliver squinted hard, recalling his last memory.
"Ah, I found A2 and was reporting in over the radio when... Someone attacked me from behind... ugh."
His face contorted in pain, apparently from a severe ache in his side.
When Ruben lifted Oliver's shirt, he saw a distinct red bruise on the man's right flank.
"He was struck right in the xieyin point."
It was a vital point located under the ribs at the flank.
If struck hard enough to impact the intercostal nerve and the kidney, one could lose consciousness from the shock.
"Sorry, if only I hadn't let my guard down..."
"Any punishment for this will be after we return. More importantly, did you get a look at the attacker or any identifying features?"
"It happened so suddenly, I didn't see their face."
But as Oliver slowly stood, feeling around his jacket, he seemed to notice something unusual.
Ruben, reading the mood, frowned and asked,
"... What's wrong?"
"My tech gear is gone."
"What? You think the guy took your stuff?"
"That must be it."
Ruben paused to assess the situation, his face scrunching up even more than before.
"Damn. It was a diversion. Gordon Grimes is already gone."
"Should we go after him right away?"
"And where, exactly, would we chase?"
Due to the sudden assignment and the unregistered location, they didn't even have CCTV coverage.
By the time they regrouped and started pursuit, it would already be too late.
"So what do we do with this guy?"
He pointed at the NIS agent, still sitting against the wall.
Ruben stared at the man intently before murmuring quietly.
"Even if he didn't see us, we can't leave someone who overheard our conversation alive."
The NIS agent's eyelids quivered.
He had apparently awoken just recently and had been quietly listening to their exchange.
At that moment, Ruben drew a pistol with a suppressor from his jacket, put it to the man's head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Pfft—
* * *
Near Gate 2, Hong Kong International Airport.
Noah Vantrail, disguised as In-hyuk, stepped into a men's restroom near the airport.
Knock, knock—
Then came the sound of knocking, not from the front, but from the adjacent stall.
"Mr. Kang?"
"Good job."
With the reply, a bag was handed over the top. As planned, In-hyuk had retrieved Noah Vantrail's luggage from the designated location.
"Leaving a lady waiting in the men's room and then brushing it off with that kind of talk—isn't that going too far?"
At the same time, she handed over In-hyuk's belongings underneath.
"I paid enough for the trouble, didn't I?"
"Tch—! You could at least say something nice."
Noah Vantrail took a bottle of liquid from her bag, poured some on a cloth, and wiped at her eyes and neck.
Soon, a seam appeared on the skin covering her face, and she peeled it away with her hands.
"Whew—! That made me break out into a cold sweat."
After removing her wig, a beautiful woman with shoulder-length black hair was revealed.
"No problems, I hope?"
"Not really. Ah, but unfortunately, Yu-geon and Van saw through me."
"I thought you said no one could catch onto you?"
"Van is sharper than I expected."
Meanwhile, In-hyuk also pulled something out of his prepared bag and started removing his disguise.
Rip—
Hearing the sound, Noah Vantrail asked,
"What are you up to, Kang?"
"I was pretty much in the same state as you."
For when they'd switched shifts at Wong Kok, In-hyuk had been in his original appearance.
"You had a disguise? What exactly were you doing?"
"I don't recall that being part of the job description."
"... Tch."
After undoing his disguise, In-hyuk changed into the clothes he'd worn at the beginning.
"Could you do me one more favor?"
"What is it?"
"Could you get rid of my bag as well? I'll pay the standard fee."
Noah Vantrail hesitated, then gave a small reply.
"... Okay."
The bag was passed up and over like that.
Afterward, In-hyuk left the stall and checked himself in the mirror, touching up anything that was out of place.
Just then, the stall where Noah Vantrail had been opened and a man stepped out.
"Not changing back to your original appearance?"
At some point, she had transformed into someone else's likeness.
"Wouldn't it look strange if a man entered and a woman exited? Especially at an airport, where there are tons of CCTV cameras."
"You're very meticulous."
"I try to provide a service that keeps my client's actions from standing out. But where did you learn your disguise skills, Kang?"
Noah Vantrail had been surprised to find the same kind of remover in the bag In-hyuk brought her.
"I learned from someone."
"Yeah, but who?"
"You wouldn't know even if I told you. And, I've already sent the payment."
With that, In-hyuk wired the fee to her account.
bzzz—
"Hm? That's fifty thousand dollars more than usual, isn't it?"
The standard fee was 100,000 dollars—about 140 million won.
"I added more for your extra care. And I may have more jobs for you in the future."
"I'd be happy to get regular business from you."
Noah Vantrail's eyes sparkled as she checked the deposited amount.
Shaking his head, In-hyuk proceeded to regroup with his waiting companions.