Chapter 107
Can You Swim?
Vladivostok, point 43.223300, 131.967558.
Li Weicheng, a Level 2 agent of WID, was standing on the rooftop of an abandoned building near the elevated interchange leading to the airport.
However, his expression had not been good for a while. Just ten minutes ago, the car carrying the target, Tae Ju-ha, had begun to flee at high speed.
"This is KIRIN. B Team, report on the pursuit."
A moment later, the urgent voice of a subordinate agent crackled over the radio.
[Current distance is about 80 meters. Pursuit ongoing.]
The distance had grown even greater since the last report.
"Predicted direction?"
[The target is now quite far from the eastern highway. Seems likely they'll head for the main road... It's hard to determine exactly.]
Li Weicheng let out a silent sigh.
"Things are getting complicated because they realized they were being tailed."
He kept staring intently at the elevated interchange he'd been watching all along.
If Kang In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha had gotten on the highway as expected, he would have needed only to block one route to the airport.
But now that the route had changed to a main road, the entire plan needed revision.
"This is KIRIN. Change of operation. C Team, as soon as the target approaches within 200 meters of PLAN Point, blockade both sides of the overpass."
[Roger.]
[Roger.]
Replies came from both locations.
Putting down the hand holding the radio, Li Weicheng gazed off into the distance.
"A Team, ready to snipe."
[Roger.]
[Roger.]
A man who had been standing behind approached him.
It was Ruben, a Level 3 agent who had been in Hong Kong just a few hours earlier.
Click— click—
Since Ruben was also part of A Team, he prepped his SVD sniper rifle and set up his position on the rooftop.
Watching him, Li Weicheng calmly communicated via radio.
"This is KIRIN. A Team will first attack the vehicle and process the target. If it is not possible to secure visibility for target processing, B Team will engage from behind."
[Roger.]
[Roger.]
[Roger.]
.
.
More voices answered than before, each in order.
Time slipped by, and then radio contact from B Team, in charge of pursuit, came through.
[About 300 meters to the point. Target has entered the main road! Target has entered the main road!]
They were now 100 meters away from the 200-meter mark previously ordered.
Watching through the sniper scope, Ruben spoke.
"They're within sight."
Li Weicheng checked through the binoculars he held in his left hand.
There, on the road entering the interchange, he spotted a car plowing madly ahead.
"They're coming at that speed? That guy's truly insane."
The car seemed to be going well over 150 km/h, weaving smoothly through other vehicles.
"Change blockade point. Block the east only. Block the east only. Guide the target toward the bridge."
The operation changed yet again.
On the way to the airport from the interchange were both a bridge crossing the sea and a land route.
Not long after, a large sound erupted from around the area.
Bang— bang!
A massive container truck swung across the land route highway, blocking the way and then exploded.
Li Weicheng used his binoculars to confirm the target vehicle.
As planned, the explosion on the road would force the vehicle to turn and change direction.
.
.
.
Screeeeech—
In-hyuk turned his wheel instantly upon seeing the explosion and the flames shooting up.
He had anticipated the land route would be blocked, so he headed toward the bridge.
Meanwhile, in the passenger seat, Tae Ju-ha finally regained her senses.
"Just now... what, what was that?"
"Someone is interfering with our route."
"Then what do we do?"
"We have to get to the airport, one way or another."
There were other small roads on the land route, but that was exactly where the enemies would want them to go. It was surely a trap.
So, as In-hyuk took the elevated road and turned toward the bridge, he slammed on the brakes.
Screech— bang!
Just then, something flew through the air, smashing the front windshield and passing between In-hyuk and Tae Ju-ha, embedding itself in the back seat.
"Kyah—!"
"This is more dangerous than I thought."
"W-what is it?"
"Looks like a sniper shot."
"They're trying to kill us?!"
If In-hyuk had not braked at that precise moment, Tae Ju-ha would have been hit by that bullet.
'To be exact, she's the target, not me. Even earlier in front of the building, those gazes seemed to pass over me.'
If they were aiming for both, the first shot would have targeted the driver's seat.
In-hyuk reached across the passenger seat to push the seat back further and turned the wheel even more sharply.
"Kyah—! W-what are you doing?"
With Tae Ju-ha's scream, the car zigzagged even faster forward.
Bang— bang, Bang—
At the same time, with the car's erratic movement making aiming difficult, bullets struck only the hood or trunk.
"If you don't want to be hit, wrap your arms around your head and turn your body toward me."
"L-like this?"
"You're doing well. Please don't be too startled as I speed up."
The car passed through the elevated interchange and reached the entrance to the bridge.
"Of course, even here there must be a trap."
At that moment, as if waiting, something leapt out from the stone railing on the right side of the road.
They were people in coyote brown combat gear, armed with rifles.
They had been waiting, clinging to the guardrail with a cliff below, until the target arrived.
Simultaneously, In-hyuk yanked the side brake and cranked the wheel.
The car spun a full 360 degrees on what felt like an oil slick, skidding forward.
Screeeeeeeeech—
Tire screams and gunshots mixed as the car was showered with bullets.
Yet, the car didn't stop spinning and surged forward, smashing into something and sending it flying.
Boom— screech! Vroooom—
"W-what was that?"
There was a jolt, and the car stopped for a moment.
"Just something in the way got hit."
With that, In-hyuk opened the driver's door and picked something up. This time, he shifted into reverse and started backing up.
Vroooom—
"W-why are we going backwards?"
"It gives a better view this way. And absolutely do not raise your head."
As he kept reversing, In-hyuk pulled something back with his left hand.
Click, click—
"... Isn't that a pistol?"
"Seems someone dropped it."
"That's not the issue! Why do you have a gun? Don't tell me, you're going to shoot?"
Bang bang bang— bang, Bang—
Meanwhile, bullets flying at the car now aimed for the wheels, pouring in from straight ahead.
But In-hyuk continued making random lateral movements, dodging the bullets.
"We have to respond, too."
"Do you know how to shoot?"
"I served in the military."
"......"
After checking the pistol's rounds and reloading, In-hyuk braked again and turned.
Screech— bang bang, Bang bang—
This time, those hit by In-hyuk's shots were men firing back from the opposing stone railing.
They staggered as they were hit in the shoulders and thighs, but tried to recover their stances.
"D-did you hit them?"
"I'm not sure. Let's just try to get as far away as possible."
After spinning, the car faced forward again and sped away.
Because of the earlier altercation, other cars couldn't even get onto the bridge.
As a result, all traffic behind was jammed, and no one could chase.
The path cleared, so In-hyuk pushed the speed higher. Soon enough, the gunfire faded behind them.
Instead, most of the glass was shattered and the car body was riddled with bullet holes from the hail of shots.
"... Are we safe now?"
They had passed a third of the way across the bridge.
Calculating the distance from where the sniper fired, it was about 1.5 km.
Considering the sea wind and the maximum range of a sniper rifle, they were well out of effective range.
"For now, yes. But we can't relax completely."
"Why not? Are they going to chase us again? No, more importantly, who's trying to kill us?"
She had wanted to ask from the start but only now found time due to the situation.
"It must be someone with something to gain."
"It's because of the shares my grandfather set aside, isn't it?"
Anyone could have guessed that.
"I took precautions just in case, but this got rougher than expected."
"You said it's not over yet. Why?"
"Just the fact that they herded us onto this bridge means it's not the end. Someone's probably waiting up ahead."
Hearing this, Tae Ju-ha reclined nervously in her seat.
"T-then what do we do?"
In-hyuk eased off the accelerator and thought for a moment before replying.
"By any chance, are you able to swim in the ocean?"
A sense of foreboding washed over her at once.
"... Pardon? Why do you ask?"
"I think we might need to."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the abandoned building, Li Weicheng calmly watched the scene and radioed in.
"Quickly tend to the agents hit by the car. Is the guy who got shot okay?"
[Ugh... It's not so bad I can't move.]
"Then get in the follow-up vehicle and move out."
These were the agents who had been struck when Kang In-hyuk spun the car and those inside who'd been shot.
While Ruben had ceased fire and turned his gaze from the car now outside sniper range, he asked:
"At this rate, the Shikai team will handle the cleanup."
That name referred to another Level 3 agent from China, like Li Weicheng.
Now, Shikai was waiting for the target on the far side of the bridge.
Thus, Li Weicheng kept watching In-hyuk's car pulling away across the bridge through his binoculars.
"You're sure Kang In-hyuk wasn't hit, right?"
Because only Tae Ju-ha was the target.
Even though Ruben had done his best, there was always a possibility a stray round bounced into him, so he asked anxiously.
"When I checked through the scope, he seemed unharmed. He also did his best to avoid the shots."
It had all happened in an instant due to the car's frantic motion.
Because of that, they had no choice but to let Tae Ju-ha go for now.
"Still, are you sure there's nothing odd in the information about Kang In-hyuk?"
"You're suspicious because of Kang In-hyuk's driving skills."
"Tactical driving is something one learns in special training. Could an ordinary office worker do that?"
Tactical driving is something taught to military, police, and security agents for survival and mission execution in hostile situations.
He'd even demonstrated something close to a stunt—beyond the reach of any civilian, which was strange.
"I wonder about that myself, but for now there's no way to find out."
"Hm..."
Then Li Weicheng picked up the radio again.
"This is KIRIN. Has the target been identified?"
[About 700 meters from arrival. Approaching the point. Personnel on standby.]
"Don't let them get away, no matter what."
[Roger.]
With a short reply, Li Weicheng once again brought up his binoculars.
From the starting point, he had a clear view of only Kang In-hyuk's car running on the open bridge, all other cars stuck behind.
"Hm? What's that...?"
At that moment, the car suddenly swerved hard left and right, then accelerated, crashing violently into the metal railing and flying off into the sea.
Ssshhhh—
At the same time, Shikai's voice came through the radio.
[Target crashed. Target crashed. Awaiting instructions.]
The only one who had to die was Tae Ju-ha.
If Kang In-hyuk also died here, the team would undoubtedly be blamed for failing the mission.
"Wait for a while nearby in case they emerge."
From where the car had plunged in, bubbles were rising madly to the surface.