Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1359. Enraged (4)

Driiiip...

Water, boiled with the assistance of a portable gas burner, was poured into a paper cup.

Chang Piljae poured the contents of an instant coffee mix packet into this cup, then stirred the mixture with the empty packet itself before presenting it to Kang Jin-Ho.

“Here. Enjoy.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly accepted the cup, prompting Lee Hyeon-Su to scowl deeply.

“You don’t know this, but the Assembly Master only drinks expensive coffee, and...”

Sluuuurp~!

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho only needed to take two slow sips of this cheap coffee to sag into his chair with the face of a man relaxing in a hot spring. “That hits the spot.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression crumpled. Since when did he walk into a construction site filled with sore-muscled uncles?

Chang Piljae grinned smoothly. “This is the taste of home these days, isn’t it?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded repeatedly, as if he fully agreed with that sentiment.

Only Lee Hyeon-Su was left out of this coffee appreciation moment, and began pouting deeply.

“Coffees are the same everywhere, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho and Chang Piljae immediately responded.

“They are not the same.”

“Yes, they are very different, you know?”

“...”

Well, since the two of them were so adamant about this...

Lee Hyeon-Su stared at the familiar yellow instant coffee mix packet, a strange expression gradually forming on his face. This was the taste of home? Really?

Then again, he could kinda agree with the concept, but...

Wait a minute, am I actually agreeing with these two?

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly shook his head, then gazed sharply at Chang Piljae as the Korean spy finished preparing coffee. He then pushed this paper cup toward Lee Hyeon-Su.

Lee Hyeon-Su curtly replied, “No thank you.”

Chang Piljae was slightly taken aback. “Sorry? Why not?”

“I’m worried about you mixing in poison.”

“Huh? Even though that gent’s drinking it just fine?”

Lee Hyeon-Su almost cried out, That gent will be fine even after swallowing an entire bottle of cyanide! He’s a totally different breed from someone like the frail old me, okay?!

Kang Jin-Ho casually pointed at the untouched cup of coffee with his chin. “It’s fine. You can drink it.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “Oh? Does that mean it’s not poisoned, sir?”

“Nah. If it is poisoned, I’ll avenge you, okay?”

“...”

What about Lee Hyeon-Su’s life that would have ended by then? Who knew Kang Jin-Ho would be this uncaring!

Chang Piljae sheepishly rubbed his nose. “Why would I poison your coffee after bringing you all this way?”

He then looked around at their current surroundings.

“This place is like my last bastion, after all. You know what I mean?”

“Calling this place your last bastion is a bit...”

A wry smirk formed on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face.

Their current location was a village not too far from Beijing. When nicely put, it was a small village on the outskirts of this massive metropolis. However, when not so nicely put...

It’s a slum, that’s what this place is.

While thinking that, Lee Hyeon-Su looked up and frowned deeply. That ceiling looked as if it’d come down on the trio of occupants below at any second now.

He glanced back at Chang Piljae. “Even though we’re only thirty minutes away from Beijing...?”

“Actually, there used to be plenty more places like this one between here and Beijing, you know? But they all got wiped out when the government was trying to host that Olympic or whatever it was. You know how it is, don’t you? The wealthier the town is, the more wretched its slums tend to get.”

Even Lee Hyeon-Su had to agree with that sentiment.

When he first set foot in this village, he thought he had traveled at least fifty years back in time. Worn-down ancient wooden buildings with rotting frames that might appear in old movies were miraculously still standing up.

The problem here was that such buildings only fit for demolition were still jam-packed with people. All the laundry hanging on the railings, as well as the residents busily going about their day, continued to grab Lee Hyeon-Su’s attention.

“By the way, is it okay for a spy to live in a place with so many people?”

Chang Piljae tutted. “You don’t know anything, Mister Lee. Humans need to hide among other humans to not stand out. Constructing a secret underground space and hiding down there only happens in movies, okay? Let’s be real here. We’re in a foreign country, so how am I supposed to construct a secret bunker or something without getting found out? It’s not like the Chinese are all as blind as a bat, you know?”

That assertion was also correct, wasn’t it?

Chang Piljae nonchalantly drank the coffee.

Watching this man with a dirt-stained face and worn-down clothes drinking coffee helped Lee Hyeon-Su appreciate how incredible secret agents could be.

This was no longer on the level of a good disguise. Chang Piljae really looked like a natural-born Chinese at this point! Even the locals would never suspect that he was a foreigner from how natural he looked.

Lee Hyeon-Su curiously asked, “Do you actually live here, though?”

“Not really. It’s like I stay here one day, then move on to another place the next day. If I tell the locals that I travel everywhere for work, no one will suspect anything even if I only show up once every month. Of course, some bastards will break in while I’m not around to steal things, but what can I do, eh?”

“Does that mean it’s safe here?”

“Well, sure. That’s been the story until now, but... There isn’t any place that’s truly safe in this world, you know? A safe haven today could turn into a not-so-safe haven tomorrow, know what I mean? Actually, that can happen right now, too.”

Sluuurp~!

Chang Piljae finished his coffee, then smirked deeply.

“But it doesn’t matter now. This place is no longer usable, after all.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sure my colleagues are searching for me as we speak. In other words, I can also no longer return to the fold, so to speak.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s head tilting intensified. Why would the Korean agents search for Chang Piljae?

“Please explain in detail. It sounds like we’re on the same boat now, so we deserve some explanation on what’s going on here.”

“Same boat, eh...?”

An unreadable expression briefly formed on Chang Piljae’s face.

That wasn’t because he didn’t want to acknowledge that they were in the same boat, as Lee Hyeon-Su had said. No, what tensed him up was the way Lee Hyeon-Su said it. People usually said things like that when they were driven to a dead end, after all.

Chang Piljae furrowed his brow. “That rendezvous point you were supposed to go to?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“That was a fake.”

“...Sorry? What?” Lee Hyeon-Su stared at Chang Piljae with the face of a man who couldn’t understand.

“The rendezvous point the higher-ups know about is somewhere else, you see? Everyone headed there, except for me,” said Chang Piljae while taking out his phone. It was switched off. “And they should be searching for me like crazy right about now.”

“...?” A look of genuine confusion formed on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face as he stared at Chang Piljae. “But would they be searching for you?”

“How should I know?” Chang Piljae snorted unhappily, then even gritted his teeth a little. “I also had no idea, you know? And truth be told, I still didn’t know a damn thing while handing over that item to you.”

“That item?”

“Yes, that item. You know, the tablet?”

“Oh, that...”

“Remember me saying that you gotta physically destroy that thing after you’re done with it?”

“Yes, you did.”

“That wasn’t because we were worried about the Chinese getting hold of it. Nope. As it turned out, my boss was worried about our side retrieving it later. I learned this not too long ago, but the files on that thing were programmed to change after a set period of time.”

Lee Hyeon-Su blinked his eyes. “...?”

“When my colleagues were looking at it, it showed a different rendezvous point. By the time I handed it over to you, though, it displayed another location. Do you understand what I’m saying to you now?”

“Huh? Are you saying Mister Yi Jong-Wuk knew something like this would happen and made preparations beforehand?”

“Nope. I’m saying I’m f*cking screwed now.”

“...Oh.” Lee Hyeon-Su’s cheeks ever so slightly twitched just then.

“Bloody hell, at least he could’ve told me sooner, you know? Then I could’ve prepared myself, at the very least! Yi Jong-Wuk made me deliver a file that fooled all the higher-ups, and then he tells me out of the freaking blue that it’s too late to go back? Sure, he might be my superior, but a little brat younger than me dares to...!”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su wanted to say Chang Piljae should stop with this unnecessary rant, but couldn’t bring himself to do that after sympathizing with the contents of this oddly pitiful rant. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“Even if I call the higher-ups now and say I had no freaking idea, my career as a spy is still finished, you know? They’ll force me back to Korea and push me into retirement without paying me proper compensation, too... When that happens, who’s gonna compensate me for my wasted youth? And this face?! Goddamn it!”

Lee Hyeon-Su muttered weirdly. “That’s... how the cookie crumbles, I guess?”

Chang Piljae wiped away the hints of moisture pooling near his eyes.

Since the end of his deployment was approaching, he made doubly sure not to step on a stray leaf these days, just in case. But this event, it was... It was worse than getting crushed by a falling log. No, it was as if the ground had suddenly exploded and flung him over the bloody cliff!

Although he was precariously holding on with his pinkie, his finger was about to give in any second now.

“Mister Lee, you said we’re on the same boat, didn’t you?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Yes, I have.”

“I should be the one saying that to you,” said Chang Piljae, a determined look now on his face. “Now that things have come this far, my only path of survival is taking you back to South Korea, no matter what. And then, either Manager Yi Jong-Wuk seizes power and keeps his word, or you’ll keep me afloat even if that bastard fails and falls flat on his damn face.”

Chang Piljae linked his thumb and index finger to create the unmistakable shape of a coin.

“I’ll be in your care now, good sirs.”

“...”

Looking at Chang Piljae and his antics, it felt like all the images of a secret agent hiding in other countries in Lee Hyeon-Su’s mind were shattering into a million pieces. Even so...

Well, only someone like this can make it as a secret agent, no?

A person who didn’t give a damn about saving face and only cared about reality, someone who knew how to deftly toe the line... Obviously, someone like that would enjoy far higher odds of survival than those who acted all dignified and the like.

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “No need to worry about that. If you can’t stay with the NIS, we’ll take care of you. Even if it’s as the Assembly Master’s personal assistant.”

“Huh? Me?” Kang Jin-Ho asked while pointing a finger at himself. Even he was making the face of a slightly aggrieved man.

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced. “...A job, any job, in the Assembly should suffice, I think.”

Chang Piljae chimed in. “It must be a well-paying job, though.”

“Seriously?”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but chuckle. He should learn how to be as shameless as Chang Piljae.

“So, to summarize,” Lee Hyeon-Su asked in a somber tone. “Out of every Korean agent stationed in China, you’re the only one who is acting under Mister Yi Jong-Wuk’s orders?”

Chang Piljae casually nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“And other agents should have realized this by now and are searching for you as if their lives depend on it?”

“Correct, once again.”

“In that case, what would’ve happened if we headed to the rendezvous point?”

Chang Piljae snorted again. “I dunno. However, I do know this one thing, and that is...”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Right up until I stopped being in contact with everyone, we were monitoring the movements of the other side pretty closely.”

Lee Hyeon-Su cocked an eyebrow. “When you say the other side, who are you talking about?”

“The People’s Liberation Army,” said Chang Piljae with another casual shrug. “Or to simplify, the Chinese military.”

“...!” Lee Hyeon-Su loudly gritted his teeth. “Hang on a minute. Are you saying that our own people handed over information to the Chinese military to apprehend us? And not only that, but they are cooperating, too?!”

“Well, yeah.”

“Those sons of b*tches...!”

Chang Piljae looked weirdly at the teeth-gritting Lee Hyeon-Su. “Why are you getting angry about it, though?”

“What do you mean, why! Of course I should get angry! How dare they get in bed with the Chinese bastards?!”

“But, uh, it’s been decades since the Korean government started cooperating with the Chinese?”

“I’m... sorry? What?”

“Growling like enemies on the surface but partying together behind the scenes, smiling and shaking hands on the surface but insulting each other behind each other’s backs... Isn’t that how politics work? Not only that, but relationships between nations? That’s foreign affairs in a nutshell. Nothing surprising there, you know?”

“...”

Chang Piljae was right. Even Lee Hyeon-Su would have accepted this situation without question had it happened to strangers.

“Mister Lee, people laugh while watching others get beaten up, but complain when the beating happens to them. That’s called being human. We don’t know what it feels like until we become the victims. We gotta experience our flesh exploding and our bones shattering first before understanding what’s what.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. “Sounds like you have experienced getting beaten up many times before.”

“Sure. I lost count, actually,” Chang Piljae flashed his yellowing teeth in a smirk. “We work for our country. If you flip that around, though? No one has seen the dirty laundry of our country as much as we have. And no one hates the country more because of it. My life is nothing more than a chess piece to the higher-ups. No, maybe even less than that. If a chess piece is deemed worthless, it’d get taken away, but us? Things only start in earnest after we’re taken away, you see?”

Chang Piljae’s expression suddenly changed, and a chilling light began flickering in his eyes instead.

“No one will look after me in this world. Since I’m in this situation now, I better do what I can to look after myself.”

Lee Hyeon-Su wordlessly stared at Chang Piljae before nodding slightly.

Even though his scruffy, humorous exterior didn’t suggest it, this man, too, had been walking on the fine line between life and death all this time.

...And he was about to become their comrade, too.

“Did you say you will look after yourself?” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly asked Chang Piljae.

“Yes, sir. That I did,” said Chang Piljae.

“You better remember that resolve, okay?”

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely got up after saying that.

“I’m sorry?”

“It seems this was not the best hiding spot, after all. Or the other side always considered the possibility of you betraying them.”

Chang Piljae’s eyes powerfully quaked just then. That was because he had figured out what Kang Jin-Ho meant just then.

“Bloody hell...!” Chang Piljae quickly organized his thoughts, then spoke up. “I have a jeep parked behind this building. It looks like a piece of junk on the outside, but I made sure it’s in tip-top condition mechanically. If we can reach it, getting out of here should be easy enough.”

“Sounds good,” said Kang Jin-Ho while baring his fangs in a toothy smirk. “So? Is it this way?”

“Yes, sir! Once we go outside, turn in the opposite dire—”

“Get down!” Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly cried out and pounced on Chang Piljae before bringing him down to the floor.

Blamblamblamblamblam!

The noises of rapid gunfire, which would’ve sounded great in an action movie, slammed into everyone’s hearing.

Kang Jin-Ho yanked out his Crimson Destiny from subspace and pointed the blade in the direction Chang Piljae had pointed out, his expression cold and withdrawn.

“Lee Hyeon-Su.”

“Yes, sir!”

“We’re leaving.”

“Understood!”

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

Kang Jin-Ho blew the wall away before throwing himself outside.

Two pairs of black wings spread on the devil’s back as the creature flew into the starless night sky.