Chapter 231: The Secret Society Prepares For Every Situation (1)
After hearing Nguyen’s decision,
Guided by Laichai, we went to a nearby cafe, took some photos, and had tea separately—I with Yun Hye-ra, and Laichai with Nguyen. Then, Yun Hye-ra and I headed to our booked amodation.
“Hey, Nguyen.”
“Yes.”
“Nguyen? Are you from Vietnam?”
“Ah. May I say who I am?”
“If it’s about Mr. Laichai.”
“I am such a person.”
“!!!!”Screeeech.
The car suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Fortunately, there were no cars behind us, so we could move forward again without any trouble. Laichai gaped, staring at Nguyen, who had taken off his Ectosm Infimask, through the rearview mirror.
“My goodness. My god. To think I was having tea alone with the greatest hero of this country. My, how could this be…!”
Thinking about it, Nguyen was as popr as Gwang Ik Gong in Korea, so I understood Laichai’s sudden stop.
“Haha, this is something. Sorry about the sudden braking. I was so surprised, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Not having a sudden eleration is lucky enough. It’s fine. It’s Nguyen’s fault for taking that off without saying not to be startled.”
“…You talk about Nguyen as if it’s nothing. Are national intelligence agents ‘such people’? Ah, never mind. Don’t want to hit the brakes suddenly again.”
Laichai avoided learning about Yun Hye-ra’s and my true identities.
He might guess who we are, but he probably couldn’t guess our viin ranks or names precisely.
“…Sigh. Never thought I’d see such a day.”
Still, Laichai was astounded.
“Let’s… put it back on.”
“Understood.”
“…And I’ll keep speaking the same way. Suddenly using honorifics because I know your identity might catch the attention of others.”
Laichai kept taking deep breaths to calm himself, and Nguyen put the Ectosm Infimask back on, revealing his white teeth.
“Mr. Manager? You called my name…”
“I had something to say to Hero Nguyen. Driver, please go slowly.”
Once the speed had appropriately slowed down, I took out a used tablet.
“Hero Nguyen. How long has it been since we met?”
“…About half a day, around 6 hours.”
“That’s right. 6 hours. A person of interest has been walking around without his ThaiWatch for 6 hours. Lace might start getting nervous.”
“……!”
It’s not Taeguk Watch.
It’s ThaiWatch.
The manufacturer was Haegneul from Korea, but the g reflected on the watch’s ss was the g of Thand.
“Where is your ThaiWatch now?”
“…At home. Today, I took a leave.”
“You came prepared. Excellent.”
And of course, Nguyen joined us without his ThaiWatch.
“But your opponent probably knew your intentions and movements. They lost you the moment you left the airport. And now, they’re frantically looking for you.”
I pointed to cars and bikes passing us by.
“Kosian, among others including inclothes police, are looking for you. It’s quite obvious. Those looking for the missing Nguyen and those he contacted.”
A Kosian in academy uniform, people delivering food on motorcycles, convenience store workers, and even traffic police were all checking people.
“There’s the police. Mr. Laichai. Just go. Tell them as it is.”
“……I’ll trust you.”
Screeeech.
Laichai stopped in front of the traffic-controlling police and rolled down the window.
“What’s the matter?”
“A viin has stolen a car and fled; we’re conducting a search. We’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“Geez. In this day and age, what’s the point of stealing a car…”
Muttering, Laichai handed over his ThaiWatch, and the police officer matched it with his own.
“Mr. Laichai… why did youe this way?”
“We were visiting rmended restaurants for these guests. They’re a newlywed couple from Korea.”
“Sawasdee krap.”
I greeted the officer with the traditional Thai greeting, and he looked at me in surprise.
“Wow.”
“Why, what is it?”
“No. It’s just my first time hearing a Korean use a Thai greeting.”
“…….”
Did I do something unnecessary?
From behind, Yun Hye-ra’s knee nudging the seat made me feel like I was being trolled.
This was unfair.
How could speaking Korean to a police officer in Thand be less likely to cause misunderstandings?
‘I did nothing wrong.’
“A Korean newlywed couple… why is the husband in the front seat?”
“Oh, that’s because…”
“We had a fight.”
Yun Hye-ra spoke in a curt voice, staring out the window.
“That guy, gawking at women in uniform and giggling…”
“Cough. Honey. I’ll talk at the hotel. I didn’t say anything to them.”
“Not saying anything? I saw them flirting with you, and you say you didn’t talk? Want to die?”
“…You may pass.”
“Are you not listening to me? Hey! You keep meeting other women, do you think I’ll always let it slide?!”
“No, it’s just that…”
“That’s enough.”
“It’s done.”
We safely passed the checkpoint.
Laichai and Nguyen looked at us, changing their expressions, and clicked their tongues.
“…Was that acting?”
“Acting, yes. I wouldn’t actually get mad at you, right, oppa?”
“Surprisingly, that’s the truth.”
It was all an act.
A sophisticated act to get past the police checkpoint before the officer got too annoyed with a couple apparently fighting on their honeymoon.
“Let’s continue from where we were cut off. The reason I revealed Mr. Nguyen’s identity and talked about his disappearance was because I wanted to ask about his resolve as a hero.”
“Resolve…?”
“Yes. How will you respond to Lace’s sinister ns to find you, Mr. Nguyen? It seems like the Kosian in uniforms are starting to blend in among the pedestrians. Soon, the viin rm will probably go off.”
“Viin rm…?”
“Yes.”
Beep-beep-beep.
As soon as I spoke, a viin rm began to sound from Laichai’s ThaiWatch.
[…Viin spotted on the streets. Estimated rank, ss A. Heroes on site are requested to respond immediately. I repeat, the viin is…]
“One ssic tactic is using civilians as hostages to lure hidden heroes, a very cruel method.”
“……!!”
“Soon, the viin will take civilians as hostages. Look…”
[Muahahaha!!]
A viin with one eye missing, dressed in a prison uniform, is holding the neck of a Kosian woman in uniform andughing on the rooftop of a building.
[I have returned, Phuket!]
“That guy is…!”
“Viin ‘Pupatpong.’ A viin who lost an eye to Nguyen and was defeated and imprisoned.”
“…Lace, this bastard…!”
Perhaps thanks to my hint.
Nguyen quickly grasped that the viin he had arrested had escaped from prison and suddenly appeared in the middle of a Phuket street.
“So, you’re telling me to go out there, right?”
“That’s right. What will you do? If you throw off that mask and step out, Laichai’s location will be exposed. Then, we who traveled with Mr. Laichai will also be caught.”
“…….”
Nguyen’s eyes began to waver.
Laichai silently held the steering wheel, waiting for the signal, but the veins stood out on his wrinkled hands.
“Viins always force painful choices on heroes. It’s regrettable but unavoidable. Viins have a way of doing this to heroes. So, what will you do? Will you save that woman, or will you hide your identity until the end?”
“…….”
“There’s no time to hesitate, Hero Nguyen. That viin is targeting you, and if you don’te out, he will continue his rampage.”
[Come out—Nguyen—! Today, we settle the score from that day, right here!!]
On the rooftop.
Pupatpong held only the neck of the hostage, extending over the edge of the rooftop.
If he let go, she would fall from the multi-story building and die instantly.
“Whether Lace made a deal with thew, deliberately loosened the guard’s watch to facilitate the escape, or it was truly a coincidence, if you don’t appear, everyone will be puzzled. Then…even civilians will start looking for you.”
“…….”
“Will youe out, or not? If you don’t choose within three seconds, I’ll handle it my way—”
“I wille out.”
Nguyen removed his ectosm mask.
“But please, make sure Laichai doesn’t get involved. Somehow make it look like I appeared from somewhere else…”
“Good choice.”
A hero was.
Someone who, despite being in an unfair situation, strove for justice.
“But Nguyen, you didn’t need toe out. The hostage held by that man is a Kosian.”
“What do you mean…?”
“It’s not just any hostage, but a staged act to lure you out.”
“Really…?”
Nguyen’s eyes began to waver.
“Isn’t this just your ruse to reassure me, Manager?”
Because there was a woman visibly being tormented by the viin right in front of him, Nguyen started to doubt my words.
“Are you sure that when I ignore this woman, Pupatpong will safely release her?”
“…….”
“Manager!”
“Of course, she won’t be safe.”
Yun Hye-ra coldly responded instead of me.
“Even if it’s a staged act, that man will harm the hostage. Whether there’s an agreement or not, he will continue to harm the hostage and wreak havoc.”
“Then…!”
“But the manager has determined that you don’t need to go out. Do you know why?”
Yun Hye-ra smirked and pointed outside.
“Because we won’t create a dilemma where you need to intervene.”
“What does that—”
[Roaaaar!!]
Viin Pupatpong’s scream echoed through the air.
Having lost his hostage, he clutched his shoulder and fell off the building, while the hostage was rescued by someone who suddenly appeared.
“That person is….”
[To have an ident as soon as I arrive in Phuket. Really.]
Nguyen was dumbfounded as he looks at the woman in a ck suit holding the hostage.
“Why is that person in Phuket…?”
“If we don’t want your absence to be felt, we naturally have to mobilize another ss A.”
“Madness. I never imagined I’d see that person here.”
Laichai jubntly eximed as he watched the ss A hero who subdued Pupatpong.
“Tran Hung Dao!!”
Affiliated with the Special Administrative Region of Vietnam.
A hero dispatched from Mysia.
“There are no borders in protecting people. Whether she shouts like that or not, there’s no rule that says she has to be the one to step forward.”
ss A+. Known nationally as the ‘King of Prosperity.’
Also known as ‘Tran Hung Dao.’
“Nguyen, we called her to support you.”
Naturally.
A hero cooperating with a secret society.