LRAB Chapter 349: Revenge (4)
Chapter 349: Revenge (4)
Chapter 349: Revenge (4)
Kang Jin-Ho stepped outside the hospital's front entrance, then mouthed a cigarette. Smoking while feeling frustrated didn't help anyone. Even then, why did Kang Jin-Ho or the other people insist on sucking on cigarettes whenever they felt lost and tight-chested?
Smoking cigarettes as a way to relax when they didn't have any calming effects was a laughable, ridiculous thing. Even so, many people in the world, not just Kang Jin-Ho, kept repeating this ridiculous action.
And another laughable, ridiculous person approached Kang Jin-Ho just then.
Click!
Bang Jin-Hun lit the cigarette dangling between Kang Jin-Ho's lips, then frowned slightly. “The front of the hospital is a no-smoking zone, Mister Jin-Ho! Where is your common sense?”
“...I didn't light this cigarette up, though?”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. This guy...” Bang Jin-Hun chuckled before pulling Kang Jin-Ho away. “Let's hurry over to the smoking area around the corner before you become a shameless man who smokes in the middle of a street.”
'I?think it’s too late for that, though...'
Kang Jin-Ho sighed, then stubbed the cigarette out on his palm before following Bang Jin-Hun to the nearest smoking area. He settled on a wide bench, then lit a fresh cigarette, but his expression remained a bit weird.
“I'm so happy to see you again like this, Mister Jin-Ho. If we were any slower, we would've become a remains-exhumation team instead,” said Bang Jin-Hun with a cackle. He wasn't trying to joke but couldn't help finding what happened rather amusing.
Kang Jin-Ho slightly bowed his head. “Thank you for saving our lives, Mister Jin-Hun.”
“No need to mention it. Actually, I should apologize for being so incompetent. If it was me being trapped down there and you were the rescuer, you probably would've needed only one day to pull me out of that place. I'm sorry for putting you through a wringer because of my lack of strength.”
“No, that's not true.”
Bang Jin-Hun shrugged his shoulders. “In any case, I'm genuinely relieved that it's over. You do know it was way too close for comfort this time, don't you?”
“Yes...” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. He agreed with Bang Jin-Hun's assessment.
If Kang Jin-Ho's power were slightly lacking as the tunnel collapsed on top of him, he and Choi Yeon-Ha would've been buried in layers of dirt and rocks. And that... would've been a certain death.
Kang Jin-Ho would've died instantly. Or, as the price of possessing vitality that exceeded a 'normal' person's by several folds, he might have slowly died in that airless space as dirt gradually filled up his innards.
Just thinking about it made Kang Jin-Ho tense up.
“...What about those bastards?”
Bang Jin-Hun crossed his arms while leaning against the bench. “It seems the Yeongnam Group bastards haven't found out that you're still alive. They have withdrawn all of their men from your neighborhood.”
“They aren't monitoring me anymore?”
“Yes. They are probably confident about your death. They probably also think loitering in the area would only get them entangled with us,” Bang Jin-Hun mused quietly as he looked up at the sky. “If they knew you were still alive down there, they would've definitely tried to trigger a second explosion. A random grenade or two chucked on top of the dirt pile would've been enough to finish the job, I reckon. But they didn't do that, so...”
What a horrifying thing that would be, Kang Jin-Ho inwardly mused.
“So, what are you going to do now, Mister Jin-Ho?”
“...Did you just ask me what I will do?”
Bang Jin-Hun clamped his mouth shut.
'Yup, that was a dumb question.'
Even a moron could tell what Kang Jin-Ho would do next. Knowing his personality, Bang Jin-Hun figured Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't take this lying down.
Kang Jin-Ho freely slaughtered people during a fight that didn't really involve him. So, there was no freaking way he'd behave himself after he got so brazenly attacked like this. Bang Jin-Hun was actually amazed by the fact that Kang Jin-Ho managed to remain patient like this until now.
Bang Jin-Hun thought Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't just sit still and recuperate and choose to hit the Yeongnam Group right away, but the latter stayed his hands for two days straight. No wonder Bang Jin-Hun was slightly confused about this situation.
“Mister Jin-Ho. I know several ways to strike the Yeongnam Group where it hurts the most. But... If I ask you to wait, are you willing to do so?”
Kang Jin-Ho silently puffed away at his cigarette.
Bang Jin-Hun sighed. “I knew it.”
Although Kang Jin-Ho looked perfectly fine and composed on the outside, his blood must be boiling in pure rage.
'Gee whiz, should I prepare blinders for Mister Jin-Ho or something?'
Bang Jin-Hun imagined Kang Jin-Ho going berserk in the upcoming battle and felt his stomach churn. He thanked the heavens for granting Kang Jin-Ho the ability to differentiate between ordinary daily interactions and conflicts.
.
If Kang Jin-Ho started emitting killing intent already, holding a conversation with him would've been quite challenging, even for Bang Jin-Hun.
“Shall we get going, then?” Bang Jin-Hun got up first.
“...Mm? What do you mean?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head in confusion. He had evaluated Jo Gyu-Min as a?very capable man, so Kang Jin-Ho's statement slightly surprised him.
“...Incompetent.”
“Sorry?”
“No, don’t mind me.”
Bang Jin-Hun continued to tilt his head while accessing his phone's contacts to dial a number.
***
“Okay, so... To attack the Yeongnam Group, we need to move lots of people, and once the battle starts, the surroundings will turn into a warzone? Is that what you're saying?” Jo Gyu-Min asked with his forehead deeply creased.
“Yes, basically.” Bang Jin-Hun nodded.
“However, you don't want the public to find out, so you want it all covered up somehow?”
“Yes, that too.”
“And that's what you want me to do?”
“Yes.”
Jo Gyu-Min suddenly burst into laughter.
Trying to float in the air was easy in principle. One only needed to swing their arms as fast as possible to achieve lift, after all! Of course, whether a human being could actually do that or not was a separate issue, wasn't it?!
“Do you honestly think that's possible in this day and age? Besides, where is the Yeongnam Group's HQ located?”
“In Yeongnam.”
“...Wow, that's one hell of useful information, that.” Jo Gyu-Min groaned aloud while leaning his head back.
Bang Jin-Hun chuckled loudly. “That place is still a martial arts hall, so it's located in the middle of a mountainside. That should lessen your worries a little. However, when you flip that meaning around, the situation might not be as easy as it sounds. Since it's in the mountainside, completely shutting people out will be tough. And people will notice when lots of rough-looking men suddenly enter a mountain all at once.”
“That makes sense, but... Tell me, Mister Jin-Hun. How many members of the Martial Assembly can you mobilize?”
“If we get as many people as possible, around two thousand.”
“Two thousand? That many?”
Bang Jin-Hun looked surprised by Jo Gyu-Min's surprise. “Mister Gyu-Min, the Martial Assembly is the largest martial arts organization in this country. I can confidently say around forty percent of Korea's martial artists are affiliated with us. Don’t you know how many people live in this country? Did you honestly think there were less than ten thousand martial artists in Korea when the population number for our country is at fifty million?”
“...Wow, that's a lot. But, how come I have never noticed anything until recently when there are so many of you?”
“Well, the truth is...” Bang Jin-Hun suddenly smiled awkwardly. “Yes, I can mobilize around two thousand heads. But, uh, about half of them are no better than local hoodlums, you see...”
“Local hoodlums? How so?”
“Well, even though they are cultivating, they could get their asses handed to them by an expert in MMA if they get unlucky? Does that make sense?”
“Huh? What kind of a martial artist is that?”
“It takes time for a cultivating martial artist to properly use their internal energy, you see? So, uh... Since our martial arts are built on the foundation of qi usage, our techniques without qi will be worse than MMA techniques. In the eyes of an MMA expert, qi-less martial arts might resemble quaint folk dance moves, probably...”
“...Like Tai Chi?”
“You got it.”
When explained that way, it all sounded rather... understandable?
“Mm. In that case, I think there might be a way...” Jo Gyu-Min groaned before glancing at Kang Jin-Ho. “...Eh?”
Kang Jin-Ho was staring back at Jo Gyu-Min with a?very unconvinced look on his face.
Jo Gyu-Min tilted his head. “What's the matter, Mister Jin-Ho?”
“...Mister Jo. Gyu. Min.”
“Y-yes?”
“You should strive to be better at your job.”
“...Sorry?”
Kang Jin-Ho gritted his teeth. “If we were strangers, I'd have already...!”
“...”
Without knowing why, Jo Gyu-Min suddenly felt depressed about life in general.