Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1343. Establishing (3)

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head while studying the tablet PC.

“Wow, this thing is so weird.”

Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked, “Why do you say that?”

“It doesn’t have any holes, sir.”

“What holes?”

“I mean, a tablet like this should have at least one USB port, no?”

“You guess what?”

“It’s... nothing important, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smiled brightly, then briefly shook his head. He should save his breath here and not say anything else.

His boss, AKA modern tech illiterate, didn’t show any signs of improvement even after all this time.

Then again, Kang Jin-Ho was someone who used his smartphone as an expensive alarm clock. Expecting him to become tech-savvy at this point was being too unrealistic. As proof, he still didn’t know how to snap photos with his phone yet!

It was Lee Hyeon-Su’s fault for using a high-tech term like “USB” in front of Kang Jin-Ho.

Besides all that, this tablet really is weird, isn’t it?

No matter where he looked, this table didn’t have a single external port. On the surface, at least, it looked like any other commonly available tablet on sale, but without a port, connecting it to other devices, such as desktop computers, should be nearly impossible. Even its wireless functionalities should be restricted too, essentially turning it into a view-only device.

It seemed this tablet was specially manufactured to prevent the extraction of sensitive information stored within.

That dude freaked out whenever he saw screws or even a screw hole, so would he be happy to see a tablet like this in the netherworld?[1]

No, wait. Since a table like this couldn’t be sold to the public, would he insult it for being half-arsed, instead?

In any case, what a bizarre tablet PC this was.

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled slightly. “The wireless charging tech has come a long way, hasn’t it?”

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. “Wait, what? Wireless charging? You could do that?”

“It’s... Never mind, sir.”

Yup, he must save his breath.

Lee Hyeon-Su cleanly ignored Kang Jin-Ho’s question and turned the device on.

“Wow, this thing... It can’t even access the internet? What meticulous sons of b*tches.”

Kang Jin-Ho was about to ask something else, but Lee Hyeon-Su quickly tapped on the icon of a data file on the screen first, which opened the app containing the information provided by NIS. Humoring Kang Jin-Ho’s curiosity regarding device functionalities would only give Lee Hyeon-Su heartburn, so he better skip it when he could!

As for the information, there wasn’t much, despite how fancy the device was. It basically amounted to the location of the target and a simple map of the area.

“Holy cow, look at how shoddy this is, sir.”

Maps found on popular search engines were more detailed than this map.

Of course, that didn’t mean this map was completely useless. Dozens of red dots were visible on the map, and watching them for a while made it abundantly clear that those dots were moving in seemingly predetermined patterns.

“Sir, I think these dots represent the target’s bodyguards and their movements.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Mm?”

“Do you see these red dots? You can see them moving around, yes? The bodyguards are patrolling the area in these pa...”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su stopped talking and smiled contentedly.

Oops. Silly me.

What was the point of giving a smartphone to a monkey? The animal would only use the device as a hammer to crack nuts, anyway!

“You don’t have to worry about it, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “Whatever this is, aren’t we supposed to memorize it?”

“We don’t know when the situation will change, sir. Meaning, there’s no guarantee that these routes won’t change without a warning. Besides, you can sense the locations of the guards even from a distance, anyway.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded.

While thinking, Well, at least they must’ve worked their asses off, Lee Hyeon-Su scanned the map again.

The map might be shoddy, and the movement routes seemed just as suspect, but extracting this much information could not have been easy for the NIS. Especially considering that the map showed one of the safe houses managed by the CCP, and that it had only been a day since Rhee Ki-Gwang’s arrival and the guards were put into the protection detail.

Thanks to what happened earlier, Lee Hyeon-Su had developed a habit of looking down on the capabilities of the Korean agents hiding in China, but based on this example, maybe he should revise his evaluation as soon as possible.

“We can ignore the guard placements. What we should remember is this, though,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while tapping on the screen.

A pair of red lines appeared on the map, and Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow.

“What’s this?”

“It’s our escape route, sir. The Korean agents should be on standby right here by the end of the lines. Their job is to assist your escape.”

“Is all this really necessary?”

“Securing escape routes is the basics of all basics, sir. In fact, it’s even more important than infiltration. Otherwise it’d be the same as treating your life as a one time-use item. Although, it most likely doesn’t concern you.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned wryly.

There were other bits of info beside the map, but they didn’t mean much to Kang Jin-Ho. It wasn’t as if the NIS had brought useless information, however. No, the issue was with how they failed to understand the difference between martial artists like Kang Jin-Ho and “regular” agents.

For someone on the level of Kang Jin-Ho, well-armed guards wouldn’t mean much. Those people relying on their perception to spot Kang Jin-Ho would be no different from an ant crawling on the ground noticing the presence of an eagle soaring high up in the sky, after all!

So, the real problem was...

Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his chin. “Guards aren’t the issue here, sir. What we should be more concerned about is the presence of various detection devices. For instance, like motion sensors.”

“...Motion sensors?”

“Sir? Haven’t you seen them in movies?”

“I think I might?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head this way and that.

“You know, uh, those sharp red lights going across the corridors? And the protagonists are dodging them like acrobats? You see them often in movies, though?”

“Sorry. I’m not sure,” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled with a cramped face.

“No, it’s... fine, sir. Motion sensors don’t work like that in real life, after all,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while scratching his chin some more. “I’ll be honest, even I’m not sure what to say about these security systems. Technology constantly moves forward, after all. And it’s practically impossible to guess what kind of defensive measures they have put in place. Since we’re talking about the Chinese here, the odds of encountering all sorts of unimaginable traps are uncomfortably high, sir.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, sir. That’s why...”

“But, will they matter?”

“I’m sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly reclined against the sofa. “You don’t want to get discovered because you can’t break through the army that will descend on the scene once they find you. Isn’t that right?”

“...”

That was true, wasn’t it? Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his head instead of his chin.

Regular spies wouldn’t have a choice but to flee if they got discovered during a mission. Or get killed. But what about Kang Jin-Ho? If he got discovered, the genre would simply morph from an espionage thriller to a full-blown action blockbuster. That would be all.

In fact, it’d be more like a superhero action fantasy!

Kang Jin-Ho shouldn’t have any issues, although the aftermath would become tricky to deal with.

Lee Hyeon-Su stared at his boss, his expression unreadable.

Why was he worried about Kang Jin-Ho here?

Although Kang Jin-Ho had been acting a little differently from his usual self, he was still the same person underneath, wasn’t he?

Click!

Kang Jin-Ho lit up his cigarette and lazily puffed away. “All we need to know is where the target is. Besides, we are not doing something nice here, anyway. Let’s wrap this up quickly and go home.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “The operation will commence tomorrow night, sir.”

“Really? More boring waiting, then.”

Kang Jin-Ho looked bored out of his mind as he sank deeper into the sofa. But that appearance reassured Lee Hyeon-Su so much.

Was Kang Jin-Ho doing this deliberately? Probably not.

He wasn’t that thoughtful as a person. In a way, Kang Jin-Ho was closer to a lion or a tiger, a predator at the top of the food chain. A creature like that had no reason to put on a facade.

While other, lesser people would have been fidgeting anxiously as the pressure of the upcoming mission weighed on their minds, Kang Jin-Ho seemed even more relaxed than his usual self. And that helped massively with taking the edges off of Lee Hyeon-Su’s anxiety.

It was as if nothing serious was around the corner. He could do something like this in his sleep, or at least that was what Kang Jin-Ho’s attitude seemed to say. Anyone who knew him would not be able to mock him for being so arrogant, though.

Lee Hyeon-Su ruefully smacked his lips. Man, I should’ve demanded for more.

Measly three hundred billion won for the services of Kang Jin-Ho? That sounded like a cheap price to pay. Of course, they had already received a lot before coming here, but Lee Hyeon-Su was not the type to dwell on the past.

“Assembly Master, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Yeah?”

“I’m sure this qualifies as needlessly worrying, but... A lot of variables have already been introduced into this mission, sir.”

“Variables, you say?”

“Yes, sir. First of all, we don’t know the capabilities of the enemy forces. It’s safe to view the North Koreans as a complete mystery to us. And we can’t be sure of how strong the Chinese government agents assigned to the target’s protection are.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently puffed away at his cigarette. But Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t mind that and continued with what he wanted to say.

“Although I believe this won’t happen, in case of that one-in-a-million, please promise me this, sir.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath.

“The mission or whatever doesn’t matter, sir. Even if we have to cough up everything they had paid us, no, even if we must pay back double the amount, it’s fine, sir. That’s why you must not hesitate to escape if the situation doesn’t look favorable. Please promise me.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sounded desperate just then.

Kang Jin-Ho lazily asked, “Isn’t that a given?”

“But it’s not a given when it comes to you, sir. And that’s why I’m saying all this now. I’ve never seen you retreat from a fight until now. Even if more and more enemies show up, you get more and more hellbent on killing every single enemy before you, so...”

“...”

“Oops, my apologies. I was out of the line just now. I’ll recant my previous statement, which was made in the heat of the moment.”

Kang Jin-Ho tutted softly. How considerate of Lee Hyeon-Su to recant what he said! Although it was a bit too late for that now.

“In any case... Killing them all won’t change anything, sir. If you think the situation is shifting unfavorably and you’re being delayed, please retreat without hesitation. I’m not asking you for this favor as Lee Hyeon-Su, but as a chief of the Assembly’s department.”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. “I’m not that stupid, you know?”

“I know, sir. But this isn’t the issue of whether one’s stupid or not.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s refusal to retreat didn’t stem from his inability to calculate his odds. Sometimes, a man had to put aside any notions of benefits and self-preservation to stand his ground. To some people, their religions were like that. Or it could be their principles that deserved that kind of attitude.

Kang Jin-Ho’s refusal was similar in spirit.

“It’s the same story even when viewed from the country’s point of view. Short term, killing the target at the cost of your life might be a positive outcome. However, in the long term? It’ll be a net loss. Even if North Korea’s situation is stabilized, the South Korean martial society will not be able to survive the Chinese invasion without you.”

“Yes, I got it.”

Kang Jin-Ho abruptly cut Lee Hyeon-Su off, prompting the latter to sigh under his breath. Did Kang Jin-Ho really understand the stakes involved here?

But repeating himself at this stage would be rude and distrusting of his boss. He didn’t have a choice but to trust Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed again. “Then, I’ll pray for your—”

“You know, there’s something I don’t understand.”

“Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked softly. “Have I ever disappointed you?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su was rendered speechless and could only stare at Kang Jin-Ho in stupefaction. Eventually, though, he slowly nodded away.

He realized something just then. Being familiar with someone wasn’t always a good thing. Having intimate knowledge of someone could become a blindfold instead in certain cases. Just like right now.

Lee Hyeon-Su sobered up and belatedly remembered who he had been talking to just now.

His name was Kang Jin-Ho, the boss of the Korean Martial Assembly. And a martial artist who had achieved unprecedented feats the likes of which the Korean martial society had never seen before.

He was the man who made every martial artist around the world sit up and pay more attention to the small nation in East Asia.

Even in China, the nation with enough strength to threaten the rest of the world, people now had to change the moniker the “Three Kings” to the “Four Kings” because of him.

“My apologies, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while bowing his head deeply. “I shouldn’t have nagged you like this. Maybe it’s the sign of me getting on in years.”

“Nah. It’s a good thing.”

“Sir?”

“It means things are better now. You, me.”

While saying that, the corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips visibly curled up.

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly had an epiphany while looking at that smirk. It seemed he, too, had come a long, long way... Just like Kang Jin-Ho had.

If the old Lee Hyeon-Su and the old Kang Jin-Ho had been in this room, they wouldn’t have worried about each other’s safety. No, all they would have cared about was the percentages of success.

But now, the two men couldn’t afford to go back to their old selves.

“Sir, once we wrap this mission up...” Lee Hyeon-Su grinned brightly. “How about we go on a fishing trip?”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Is fishing fun, though?”

“Once you fall for its charm, you won’t be able to pull yourself out, sir. Fishing has that kind of magnetic attraction, you see?”

“Oh? Have you been fishing for long?”

“Nope. Never fished before in my life, sir.”

“...”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head. “If only you were less talk and more action...”

“...”

What a cold-hearted but unerringly accurate assessment that was!

1. I have no idea who the author is referring to here. TLed as-is. ☜