Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 21

When Kwon Taekjoo gave the signal again, Zhenya once more lifted the floor section. The bodyguard passing over it momentarily lost his balance and fell. In that instant, they climbed up. The bodyguard frantically pulled the trigger at the intruders who had suddenly appeared before him.

A chaotic burst of gunshots ripped through the air. Zhenya slightly tilted his head, dodging the bullets aimed at him. One of the errant bullets grazed his earlobe. Red blood unmistakably welled up and trickled down his neck. Zhenya, who had wiped the wound on his earlobe with the back of his hand, suddenly chuckled.

Immediately after, Kwon Taekjoo’s bullet shattered the bodyguard’s right hand. The bodyguard screamed, clutching his mangled hand.

But his tragedy didn’t end there. Zhenya was already approaching him. Kwon Taekjoo instinctively foresaw the misfortune that would befall the poor man. Of course, there was no need, or time, to do that much.

He didn’t dare try to stop him. There was no time, as the tragedy unfolded.

“…Cough!”

Zhenya forcibly opened the bodyguard’s mouth and shoved both his hands in. The bodyguard’s jaw opened more than necessary. Zhenya’s hands, gripping his mouth from above and below, showed not an ounce of hesitation.

“Gah… Ugh… J-just… Aaaagh.”

The grabbed bodyguard thrashed his limbs, desperately struggling to shake off Zhenya’s hands. But Zhenya ignored his desperate will to survive and instantly tore his mouth open.

He whirled his head away, but he couldn’t ignore the distinctive sound. It wasn’t just a dislocated jaw. It was the sound of the temporomandibular joint breaking as the lower jaw completely separated. The bodyguard trembled and then fainted. Kwon Taekjoo instinctively grimaced and stepped back. It felt like watching the slaughter of a well-fed, lazy beast, not a human. It was utterly inhuman. And with that smile.

Zhenya held up his blood-stained hands and looked around. Soon, his gaze fixed on Kwon Taekjoo. More precisely, he was staring at Kwon Taekjoo’s shirt. Kwon Taekjoo took another step back, adamantly shaking his head.

“No.”

Regardless, Zhenya approached without hesitation. Kwon Taekjoo kept stepping back, trying to avoid him. To no avail, the distance rapidly closed. He frowned, about to refuse again, when the bastard suddenly stretched out his long arm. Before he could dodge further, his shirt was abruptly seized.

“…”

Kwon Taekjoo silently looked down at his shirt, where the imprint of Zhenya’s hands was clearly visible. His jaw clenched defiantly. His eyes, glaring at Zhenya, gleamed with murderous intent. Zhenya, unconcerned, sneered. He showed no sign of apology.

He irritably unbuttoned his shirt. Then he flung the blood-stained shirt at the bastard’s face. A curse automatically escaped his lips. Zhenya, unfazed, merely wiped the blood and bodily fluids from his hands onto the shirt.

“Why don’t you carry a handkerchief?”

“Why bother with such inconvenience?”

It was as if he was saying, if you need one, just strip someone else’s clothes.

“This way!”

Meanwhile, the scattered bodyguards rushed in, drawn by the gunshots. Should he hide in the passage again? Or confront them directly? He hesitated, looking back and forth between the open passage and the door, when Zhenya, striding purposefully, grabbed Kwon Taekjoo by the collar and dragged him roughly towards the window. Looking out, it seemed this room was located at the front of the building, not the back.

Zhenya unhesitatingly pushed the window open. Outside, cars hurriedly left the mansion, fleeing the unexpected commotion. Zhenya, watching the scene, pulled Kwon Taekjoo even closer to the window sill. With his immense brute force, Kwon Taekjoo was practically forced onto the window sill.

“Freeze!”

The bodyguards, who had infiltrated the room, demanded surrender. His head felt tight. He was probably targeted everywhere—his head, back, arms, and legs.

Even surrounded, Zhenya’s momentum showed no signs of diminishing. He continued to stare straight ahead, whispering incomprehensible words.

“Get ready.”

“For what?”

“Now.”

Before he could even register the word ‘jump,’ his body was airborne. It was as if Zhenya had forcibly dragged him along. The two plummeted helplessly from the building, landing on a sedan that was just exiting the mansion. The sedan, jolted by the impact, swerved wildly. As a result, Kwon Taekjoo’s body was violently flung, rolling across the car’s roof. If he hadn’t hurriedly wedged his fingers into the trunk’s crevice, he would have been thrown off completely.

Meanwhile, Zhenya twisted his body halfway to regain balance. Then, he thoroughly punched the driver’s side window. After a couple of blows, the already cracked window shattered. He reached his hand inside and instantly pulled the driver out. Even the seatbelt couldn’t protect him.

As the driver was pulled out, the person in the passenger seat frantically grabbed the steering wheel. Zhenya kicked him with both feet and squirmed his way inside. Having quickly taken the driver’s seat, he unhesitatingly stomped on the accelerator.

Because of that, Kwon Taekjoo’s body was helplessly buffeted. It was much later that Zhenya remembered his presence and opened the back door for him. Kwon Taekjoo barely managed to crawl into the car, which was speeding at over 100 km/h. He almost got caught in the dangling door but narrowly escaped the danger.

Without a moment to catch his breath, he aimed at the car’s owner, who was sitting in the back seat. He didn’t intend to kill him. From the moment Zhenya and Kwon Taekjoo approached this car, the bodyguards’ barrage of bullets had ceased. That meant the Bogdanovs couldn’t treat the owner of this vehicle recklessly either. There seemed to be no better shield than this.

But such optimism didn’t last long. The temporarily ceased gunfire resumed. This time, it was a shotgun. Kwon Taekjoo looked back at the rapidly receding mansion. Through the open window, Vladimir Bogdanov was visible, leaning out. He was unhesitatingly firing a hunting shotgun at the vehicle. Fortunately, the distance was great, and his fierce attack couldn’t even reach the car’s rear. The sedan, carrying the two men and the hostage, rapidly pulled away from the mansion.

There was still one hurdle left. The main gate was completely sealed. Even seeing the firmly closed iron gate, Zhenya didn’t slow down. Instead, he simply stomped on the accelerator, pushing the speed to its maximum.

Was it kill or be killed? It was utterly refreshing. So refreshing it was maddening. Why were madmen so cool?

“Aaaah!”

The car owner screamed, seeing the approaching iron gate. He made such a fuss that his uvula was visible. A collision was inevitable in that state. Even if he hit the brakes, it was already too late. Even the security team positioned in front of the main gate hastily scattered, avoiding the wildly charging sedan. It was going to crash. It was going to crash. Kwon Taekjoo instinctively raised his arms to cover his head.

The next moment, the closed main gate opened. The sedan crashed through the half-open iron gate and sped away. The security team, who had been staring dumbfounded at the scene, belatedly opened fire, but they couldn’t stop the fleeing sedan.

“Aaaah!”

Even after the moment of crisis passed, the car owner continued to scream. It was so loud that Kwon Taekjoo was momentarily considering knocking him out.

A single gunshot rang out. Immediately after, the ear-splitting scream ceased. The car owner, whose forehead was instantly pierced directly in the center, slumped back against the headrest, limp. His eyes and mouth were wide open.

Kwon Taekjoo, covered in his blood, glared irritably at the driver’s seat. He felt like he couldn’t get enough satisfaction even if he blew Zhenya’s brains out right then. As if truly unaware of the murderous intent directed at him, Zhenya muttered nonchalantly, as if he had just squashed a mosquito.

“…Annoying.”

A fierce stream of water poured from the showerhead. Water that couldn’t drain quickly enough began to pool. A faint hum escaped the man as he roughly pulled off his suffocating tie. Clothes that had served their purpose were peeled off, layer by layer, and fell to the floor. Soon, the solid physique that had been concealed beneath the clothes was revealed. The man lightly ruffled his damp hair and stepped under the shower.