Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1344. Establishing (4)

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew more and more withdrawn.

He took in the sight of a dense forest, one that was vast and seemingly untouched by human civilization as far as his eyes could see.

Yet there was a small-ish man-made structure in the middle of this sea of green.

Even though we’re not that far from Beijing...

This made some sense when he thought about it, though. One could easily find uninhabited places past Seoul’s city limits, after all. China was so much larger than South Korea was, so securing a plot of land with nobody on it shouldn’t be a tough ask.

Still, a safe house, was it?

Kang Jin-Ho strengthened his vision and studied the gray concrete structure visible among the verdant trees. It looked completely inadequate as a military installation, but the term ‘military’ meant little in this situation. That building was never designed to serve as a military outpost, after all.

However, it’d be difficult to find a location more suited to discouraging the approach of any unsanctioned individuals than this place.

Modern spies were basically creatures of concrete. They could operate to the fullest of their abilities in an environment with abundant electronic devices, plenty of people to blend in with, and various walls to hide behind.

In that case, what about a forest like this?

Not getting discovered first will be a miracle.

What if the spies from the NIS, like Chang Piljae, tried to infiltrate this place?

Most likely, he’d get captured even before taking five steps into the forest, then get dragged to a dark basement somewhere. And after a round of intense torture, he’d confess to everything he knew, including the very first meal he had as a newborn, before unceremoniously losing his life.

Kang Jin-Ho finally understood why Yi Jong-Wuk got so flustered by the plan to raid the safe house. From the perspective of the NIS, this place must seem like an impregnable fortress.

However, what about Kang Jin-Ho?

I’m not quite sure how to describe this feeling.

Indeed, he was somewhat weirded out by what he could see. After all, a dense Chinese forest with zero traces of humanity was a rather familiar sight to him.

Back in Zhongyuan, or in ancient China during his second life, Kang Jin-Ho was a member of the demon cult. Most of his fights took place in locations similar to this forest. Maybe he even fought in this very forest once upon a time, too.

This might sound like a joke, but to Kang Jin-Ho...

“...Isn’t this like the home field advantage?”

A helpless chuckle leaked out of his lips just then.

As absurd as it might sound, Kang Jin-Ho’s understanding of this terrain could be better than the Chinese occupying it!

As proof... 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Five in front, three more above...?

Kang Jin-Ho spread his qi perception far and wide. On the surface, at least, this forest looked ordinary. But he could pick up the presence of various hidden operatives as if they weren’t hiding at all.

Someone unaware waltzing into this forest wouldn’t last ten seconds before turning up as a corpse. Or lose their consciousness, only to find themselves waking up outside the forest!

But... Is security always like this?

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. This level of security seemed too excessive to be normal. So, it was safe to assume that the information leak was real. The high stress level of the operatives, as perceived by Kang Jin-Ho’s senses, reinforced his belief.

Simply put, the ones guarding this section of the forest had some knowledge of the enemy raiding this safe house during the target’s stay. Unfortunately for them, though...

Well, it won’t matter, anyway.

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against a tree and casually mouthed a cigarette.

Click...

He then lit it up. When he lazily sucked in the unhealthy smoke, his lungs were also filled with the air so much fresher than what was available in Beijing.

Here’s something I couldn’t do back then.

Although the location looked and felt practically the same as ancient Zhongyuan, the situation was rather different, wasn’t it? Only the returners should be able to stew in this reminiscence, this feeling.

In a forest covered in the thick veil of the night, a single burning cigarette was surprisingly easy to spot. Plus, the smell of the cigarette also spread far wider than most people would expect in an environment like this.

Even during a routine military exercise, smoking during the night was strictly prohibited. So, smoking like this with specially trained guards nearby was no different from deliberately exposing himself.

“Fuu-woo...”

After leisurely exhaling a puff of smoke, Kang Jin-Ho spread his perception wide again. Sure enough, he could detect several movements.

Guards nearby began moving cautiously to surround Kang Jin-Ho. However, a few seemed to have elected to stay put.

How systematic...

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. Their movements demonstrated how strict and intense their training must’ve been. An ordinary person would’ve never realized that hidden figures were nearby until they got completely surrounded.

Of course, that didn’t apply to Kang Jin-Ho.

His expression grew withdrawn once more.

Forcibly breaking through wasn’t a bad option. His style always had been slaughtering everyone standing in his way, after all. Even though this was the modern era, and he had changed a lot compared to the past, Kang Jin-Ho was unwilling to compromise on this one thing.

However, there was one thing that made him hesitate, and that was... These people weren’t trying to stop Kang Jin-Ho, but to stop an unknown intruder.

Knowing Kang Jin-Ho was the attacker and still fighting back shouldn’t be considered the same as simply following orders without knowing anything like a part of the well-oiled machine.

Hah... What a dumb excuse that is.

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled slightly. Maybe this was a sign of him getting tired of shedding unnecessary blood?

“Fuu-woo...”

He sucked in another lungful of cigarette smoke before leisurely exhaling it, his gaze staring into the darkness ahead.

The encirclement was closing in.

***

Dao Ming silently adjusted the focus on his night vision goggles.

Fuu-woo...!

He even breathed as quietly as possible, too.

Who would be insane enough to smoke in this place?

The confusion in the commander’s voice was readily apparent even to Dao Ming. But he had no desire to criticize his superior for being incompetent. He would’ve been just as confused had he been in the commander’s shoes, after all.

Is it some random moron? Or...

Guessing the identity of the intruder was impossible at this stage. If that individual had been targeting the safe house, they wouldn’t do something as suicidal as lighting up a cigarette near the mission area. Maybe if they were the world’s stupidest operatives, they might do that. But operatives like that wouldn’t be deployed on a mission like this.

In that case, could that be an ordinary civilian coincidentally passing by this area while casually lighting up a cigarette?

No, the situation and the time of the day are far too convenient for that.

Neither explanation fit. In that case, the only course of action was to cautiously approach the intruder and discover who they were dealing with.

Squeeze...!

Dao Ming’s grip on his dagger tightened subconsciously. When he realized what he had done, his expression crumpled a little.

Why are we prohibited from using firearms? What era are we even living in?

Of course, there were various reasons for not using guns here. Such as...

It was the middle of the night. Even with suppressors, the noises of gunshots could still reach nearby residential areas. Even if they used night vision goggles, a large group of operatives firing guns at a much smaller group could lead to accidental friendly fire, etc, etc.

Deep in his heart, Dao Ming knew they were all bullsh*t excuses.

His superiors still held on to this outdated fantastical image of what martial artists should be like. Despite knowing full well that firearms were the most convenient and excellent method to off people, these idiots still doggedly stuck to the strange ideal of martial artists using their strength, not guns, to kill their opponents.

What a bunch of old-fashioned morons they were.

Martial artists should also change to match the era they lived in. As proof, the idea of martial artists, like Dao Ming, being employed by the CCP and getting paid monthly wages was unthinkable a few decades ago, yet here he was, doing exactly that.

Martial artists receiving military training and joining special forces would have been unimaginable, too. So, for the higher-ups to hold on to the outdated mindset when the world had moved on already!

Dao Ming grimaced. This is why China hasn’t taken over the world yet!

—Dao Ming!

“Yes, sir.”

—Focus!

Dao Ming furrowed his brow. His commander had a knack for sensing stuff like this, didn’t he!

However, the commander was right. Dao Ming quickly got rid of the distracting thoughts, then raised his dagger in a stance to strike at any given moment.

The truth was, firearms would only serve as an optional weapon to a martial artist of Dao Ming’s caliber. A gun might be a little more convenient when confronting enemies, but a dagger could produce greater destructive power in a close-quarter combat situation.

Of course, Dao Ming still preferred a gun, as that was more convenient.

Shuffle...

The sounds of feet stepping on leaves bothered his hearing. Dao Ming walked even slower and quieter to approach the unknown individual up ahead.

I can see him...!

A distinctive spot of light flickered in the distance. That was indeed light coming from a lit cigarette.

Dao Ming’s brow furrowed deeply again.

That person doesn’t seem to know where he is?

Even the most idiotic bastard wouldn’t be standing around lazily puffing away if their target was the safe house. A junkie who couldn’t function without the nicotine hit would’ve smoked their cigarette quickly while hiding themselves, not just stand there and suck in as much smoke as possible.

Did that mean that individual really was really lost? And had coincidentally stumbled his way here?

If so, what a shame.

The CCP never cared about circumstances leading to an incident. Anyone approaching a place they shouldn’t have would get arrested and tortured inhumanely regardless of the circumstances of that person.

Such a poor bastard might one day get released if the Party believed he hadn’t been hiding any skeletons in his closet. However, if the Party found something suspicious, even if it was a trivial little thing... One might never see the light of day again.

Dao Ming felt a pang of pity, but that was about it. Work was work, after all.

He increased his pace a little and approached the smoker.

...Mm?

Once he got close enough, Dao Ming could see the smoker’s appearance more clearly through the night vision goggles. And it was a... young man? Not just any young man, but one who didn’t have any hiking or camping gears on him.

Did he really get lost?

The green-hued face appearing through the goggles was quite handsome, but other than that, there wasn’t anything particularly notable about him.

Dao Ming’s grip tightening around the dagger instantly weakened.

What the hell is up with this loser? Stressing me out like this!

He should rough this idiot up while arresting him to vent a bit of his...

But then, something unexpected happened.

The smoker’s head slightly shifted. And then, his gaze accurately landed on Dao Ming next.

“...!”

Dao Ming froze still on the spot. The smoker could see him? But that shouldn’t be possible. After all, Dao Ming was hiding himself.

In that case, how could a young man lost in the woods spot him?

That had to be a coincidence. Yes, nothing more than a coincidence. Their eyes met by sheer coincidence, that was all!

That was when the young man brought the cigarette back to his lips. And then, the flames sizzling on the tip began burning incredibly brightly.

“Urgh?!”

The night vision goggles, its light sensitivity tuned way up to see things in the dark, were instantly filled with blinding whiteness. Dao Ming gasped in searing pain as if a flash-bang grenade had gone off inches from his eyes.

“Kuhk!”

“Bloody hell?!”

Panicked voices exploded from the right and left of Dao Ming.

—Remove your goggles, now!

Dao Ming roughly yanked the night vision goggles off his face. He furiously rubbed his eyeballs as he still couldn’t see anything.

Eventually, though, when he forced his tear-soaked eyes to open...

“He... He’s not here?!”

All he could see was the empty forest and a discarded cigarette on the ground. Since it was still lit, they knew what they had seen was not a figment of their imaginations.

Dao Ming dazedly stared at the cigarette. Just how...?

His eyes might have been closed just now, but his other senses were still functioning and locked on to the smoker. But then, the unidentified individual simply vanished like a mirage from his perception!

—Where’s the target?!

“I, I can’t see him. We’ve lost him!”

—Goddamn it! Hurry and find him, now! Search the perimeter! Hurry the f*ck up!”

The commander’s panicked voice rang sharply within the forest.