Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1357. Enraged (2)

Kang Jin-Ho was sprinting at a high speed, Lee Hyeon-Su safely tucked under his arm. While being carried like a piece of luggage, a somewhat sorrowful expression was etched on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face.

Well, at least this is better than the alternative...

He figured that being treated as luggage was better than being carried on his boss’s back or being dragged around by the scruff of his neck. Even then, he couldn’t do much about this emotion welling up from deep inside his chest.

I swear, if we get out of this alive, I’ll start re-learning movement arts properly!

There wasn’t a whole lot he could do about his martial prowess at this stage. Even then, he needed to match, somehow, the movement speed of the people around him. If movement techniques weren’t enough, he’d resort to magic in order to come close to matching Kang Jin-Ho’s speed.

Not doing that would mean he’d be treated like luggage for the rest of his life!

Kang Jin-Ho asked without looking away from his path. “Is it this way?”

“Yes, sir. I believe so.”

Lee Hyeon-Su pulled out his phone and accessed the map again. It’d be nicer if he could use the GPS too, but...

For obvious reasons, they had to turn off anything that could be used to track them. This could be nothing more than a needless worry, but there was no guarantee that their phones weren’t compromised right now. Which meant they had to rely on the pre-saved map to reach their destination.

“I think it’s a little ahead of us, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowed down before stopping altogether, then put Lee Hyeon-Su down.

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned while holding his back and waist. His body might not last if this kept up.

Enduring the torture of being carried by Kang Jin-Ho at high speeds was no joke. This experience taught Lee Hyeon-Su why the term ride quality had to be invented in the first place!

Click...!

Kang Jin-Ho lit up a cigarette and mouthed it, then leisurely exhaled a cloud of smoke. Lee Hyeon-Su also pulled out his own cigarette and lit it up.

“Now tell me why we came all this way,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“I wanted to confirm something, sir.”

“Confirm?”

“Yes, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while wetting his dried lips with his tongue. He was immediately rewarded with stinging pain from the cracked skin. “Those people knew we’d be coming.”

“Mm? But we were told the Korean CCTV cameras got hacked, right?”

“Yes, sir. But that only means something when trying to monitor our activities. It won’t help the enemies with guessing what we will do next. But these people’s responses have been too organized. It was as if they had perfectly predicted we’d show up to kill Rhee Ki-Gwang today.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. He had to admit that something did smell fishy here.

“But that’s not enough to be sure of anything.”

“I know, sir. But I can’t reach Mister Wiggins on the phone, either.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su raised his phone a little. “I’ve been switching the phone’s services on every now and then, but there haven’t been any missed calls from him. In other words, he is not in a situation where he can call us.”

“He’s using a satellite phone, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes grew more withdrawn. “Then, what’s the conclusion?”

He could guess the answer to some degree already. But hearing it from someone else was different from guessing it by himself.

“Some unknown party is collaborating with the Chinese. I strongly suspect that this unknown party is Korean.”

Sizzle...

The cigarette dangling between Kang Jin-Ho’s lips burned faster.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to explain. “Of course, this is all conjecture at this point. It’s possible that the situation just so coincidentally has ended up this way. Or this was the result of us not getting enough information beforehand. That’s why I wanted to confirm first.”

“Confirm, you say...”

A bitter smirk floated up on Kang Jin-Ho’s face. Was there a point to confirming things now?

“What if this was all a misunderstanding?”

“Honestly, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “It’s very unlikely.”

“I see,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered. He finished organizing his thoughts, then tossed the cigarette to the ground before stubbing on it. “Since Wiggins can’t be reached, that means...”

“No, sir. I don’t think the situation over there has reached that point,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a quick headshake. “Mister Wiggins isn’t moving alone, after all. The Assembly members should be accompanying him, too. Trying to pressure them is the same as declaring war on us, sir. It should be too big of a gamble for the other side, too.”

“Mm...?”

“Besides, there should be easier methods than that. For one, the other side could simply interfere with the satellite communication and sever the connection between us and him. Then, they could leak some information to China, which will ensure that the coast is no longer accessible. They probably know we don’t have a way to find a ship floating on international waters, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su also got to organize his thoughts while speaking them out loud.

“But the most important part still remains,” said Kang Jin-Ho as he stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Who is doing this?”

“...” Lee Hyeon-Su nervously gulped his saliva. “Sir, I...”

“No, I get it,” Kang Jin-Ho spoke up first to cut Lee Hyeon-Su’s excuse off. “Nothing has been confirmed yet. And this is all your opinion. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And I want to hear your opinion. Who can it be?”

“I...” Lee Hyeon-Su squeezed his eyes shut. Not because he was dreading the answer, but wanted to go over everything one more time in his head. “Judging from this situation, our enemy could be one of the two. It’s either the NIS, or...”

“Or?”

“The current administration, sir.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded.

“But, sir. When I said the NIS and the current administration, I meant it in the vaguest sense. People might think everyone belonging to those organizations is united and shares the same opinions. But that’s not true. Only an antagonistic few within those organizations could use their authority and create a situation of this magnitude.”

“Okay, so...” Kang Jin-Ho muttered, flickers of icy light visible in his eyes. “It’s either Kim Myeong-Chan or Yi Jong-Wuk?”

“...”

“One of the two, then?”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t respond right away. That was because he understood the significance of this conversation. After all, Kim Myeong-Chan was the Prime Minister of South Korea. Meanwhile, Yi Jong-Wuk was a big fish within the NIS who supervised overseas operations.

It didn’t matter which of the two was the culprit here. It’d still be impossible to avoid burning bridges with the government. Worse still...

There won’t be any negotiations this time.

Any seasoned politician would try to pacify the situation by offering the other party even more benefits in case their deal went sideways. But Kang Jin-Ho was not the type to accept any compromises and let bygones be bygones.

It didn’t matter who his opponent was. As long as they attacked him first, he’d punish them strictly. No ifs or buts. That was Kang Jin-Ho’s way. And now, it was also the Assembly’s way.

“Sir, let me remind you that nothing is certain yet.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded indifferently. “Sure. I know.”

“That’s why, for now...”

Lee Hyeon-Su turned on the signal for his phone and stared at its screen. By now, the NIS should have noticed the situation, so if Yi Jong-Wuk still hadn’t called this phone yet...

There shouldn’t be a problem turning the suspicion into a confirmation.

Lee Hyeon-Su grew tense as he stared at the phone. And then...!

Vrrrrrr!

The phone began vibrating angrily.

An actual phone call? Lee Hyeon-Su had been expecting text messages or missed call reminders, but it was a phone call instead? Was the other side watching and waiting until Lee Hyeon-Su turned on the phone?

No, it had to be a coincidence. Because the alternative would be too...

Lee Hyeon-Su stared at the number appearing on the phone’s screen before answering the call.

“Hello, this is Lee Hyeon-Su speaking.”

—Mister Lee!

The voice belonged to Yi Jong-Wuk. Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression hardened.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

—Where are you right now?

“Why do you ask? Aren’t you tracking my phone down?”

—There is no time to waste here, Mister Lee! If you’re heading to the coast, I advise you to turn back, now!

Seriously? Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression grew even graver now.

—That location has been compromised! It’s now a killing field, a trap! Head toward the rendezvous point I’ve told you about.

It seemed this situation needed to be observed a little more.

“I see. Actually, we’re almost at the rendezvous point.”

—Hold on! You must not reach the point. Keep some distance away and be on standby. Tell me your coordinates, and I’ll send someone over right away.

“Before we do that, I’d like to know what is going on here.”

—I’m sure you already have your guesses.

“...”

“Returning to Korea via air or sea routes is impossible at this stage. Even if it’s possible, I don’t recommend it. Mister Lee Hyeon-Su, do not trust anyone besides what I’m telling you right now.”

“So, who was it?”

—I don’t know yet. No, let me rephrase that. Even if I know, I can’t tell you. But one thing is for certain. Information from our side has been handed over to China. Maybe it’s even worse than...

That was when Kang Jin-Ho extended his open palm toward Lee Hyeon-Su, prompting the latter to hand the phone over without protest.

“This is Kang Jin-Ho speaking.”

—Oh... Yes, Mister Kang. My apologies for the situation turning into a...

“Who was it?”

-...

Kang Jin-Ho pulled out a new cigarette, mouthed it, then lit it up.

“You called us because you want to help us out and avoid worsening the situation. Or you want to lure us into a trap. It’s one of the two.”

—This is not a trap, sir. I swear on my life that it is not. It’s just that...

“In that case, tell me. Tell me how much I must fix when I get home.”

—...!

“Or are you going to tell me everyone is my enemy?”

A deep groan leaked out from the phone’s speaker. A short bout of silence later, a pained voice entered Kang Jin-Ho’s hearing.

—If I knew that, I would have done everything in my power to stop them, sir. However, there are far too many suspects at this stage. The only certain thing at this stage is that this individual responsible for leaking information to China wields far greater authority than me.

“So? What are you saying?”

—I can’t tell you any more than this. I’m sorry.

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “That means we can’t trust you.”

—Mister Kang... No, Assembly Master, sir. Please understand the situation I’m in. I simply cannot divulge information like that. However, I firmly believe that this individual and their actions are greatly harming our country.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t say anything and simply listened.

—Please believe me, sir. I’ll do everything in my power to find a route where you can safely return to Korea.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. That prompted Lee Hyeon-Su to nod weightily.

“How will we do this?”

—I’ll send someone to your location. Please tell me your coordinates.

Kang Jin-Ho handed the phone over to Lee Hyeon-Su without saying anything else. Lee Hyeon-Su received the phone and explained their rough location to Yi Jong-Wuk.

-Understood. And, also...

Yi Jong-Wuk spoke gravely.

—Once this conversation ends, there’s a good chance that I won’t be able to contact you again. But I’ll update the agent heading out to meet you on the escape route. Please follow his instructions.

“Understood.”

-Then, I’ll pray for your safe return.

The call ended, and Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at the phone’s screen.

“You think we can trust him?”

“I’m not sure, sir. But...”

Lee Hyeon-Su helplessly shrugged.

“All we can do now is wait and see.”

***

Yi Jong-Wuk sighed deeply after ending the call.

With that, that part of the situation had been dealt with.

He had secured Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su’s safety. For now. And he had secured the route for them to return to South Korea, too. That meant he needed to figure out how an event like this could happen under his watch.

First of all, I need to find someone who can help me.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t trust anyone right now. Carelessly running his mouth now could get him killed. So, his priority should be finding someone he could trust to some degree...

Clunk!

Yi Jong-Wuk’s head snapped toward the doorway. The locked door knob was violently being jerked and shaken around from the outside.

Clunk! Bang!

“...”

Yi Jong-Wuk calmly pulled out his service pistol from his holster. However, he soon shook his head and holstered the gun again. It was pointless to resist, wasn’t it?

BANG!

The doorknob broke apart, and the door was violently kicked open. Several men in black suits rushed inside and stood on either side of Yi Jong-Wuk while pointing their guns at his head.

“...”

Yi Jong-Wuk obediently and silently raised his hands in the air.

Shortly afterward... A familiar face walked in through the door and tutted loudly.

“Mister Yi... You have greatly disappointed me this time.”

That face belonged to Kim Myeong-Chan.

Yi Jong-Wuk squeezed his eyes shut as South Korea’s Prime Minister walked closer.