March Novel (Completed) - Chapter 36

Gi Taejeong stared intently at Lee Sehwa’s back. He was trying his best, but honestly, Gi Taejeong felt he could easily catch up with just a few long strides. Anyway, Lee Sehwa walked diligently. Then he would occasionally look up at the ceiling… He seemed to be trying his hardest not to cry. Why did he have so many sad things happen to him? So many tears, and he got wet so easily… Whenever his lips came into view, they were always moist.

“This is annoying.”

He shouldn’t have made that promise to save him. Even if his legs below the knees were damaged, it probably wouldn’t affect his ability to have children, but Gi Taejeong knew well that Lee Sehwa’s plea, “Don’t give up on me,” also contained the entreaty “safely.” To the very end, safely. It would have been easy if he were alone, but Lee Sehwa was the problem.

Gi Taejeong brought his watch to the Z2’s lock. The watches worn by soldiers were not mere timepieces. From identity verification to security sensors, cards, phones, tablets… they were literally wrist-mounted supercomputers capable of performing all electronic device functions. And with Gi Taejeong’s watch, a brigadier general, there was nothing within the military that couldn’t be unlocked. Of course, the owner of the skin he was wearing couldn’t do such a thing, but Lieutenant Park, who was hacking, would probably be deleting such scenes automatically.

Click, as he opened the lid, he twisted his shoulder as much as possible. The distance was a bit short, but he had done similar things several times, both in training and in real combat. And he had always succeeded. Gi Taejeong pushed all his senses to their limit. Even Gi Taejeong himself didn’t know how this was possible. The military personnel who brought him in later found him grotesque and frightening. But thanks to this inhuman control of his senses, Gi Taejeong had managed to survive until now.

All the piercing noises faded. Gi Taejeong even suppressed his own breathing, focusing only on the bomb’s trajectory. Ssae-aek, only the vivid sound of the spherical object flying in a parabola was audible.

He picked up the bazooka he had briefly put down and launched himself forward. Lieutenant Park, who had observed everything from mock drills to real combat, once said, “It was as if the whole world stopped, and only the Brigadier General moved at several times the speed.” He could only hope it would be the same this time.

He haphazardly pulled down and toppled the metal shelves displayed next to them. Even so, there were only a couple of them, so they probably wouldn’t serve as a substantial shield. How much time was left? The speed of the sphere cutting through the air was slowly decreasing. It was about time for the highly arcing curve to start its descent.

He accelerated even more. Lee Sehwa’s pitiful back, which he was now quite used to, swayed in front of his eyes. Gi Taejeong grabbed Lee Sehwa, who was crawling like a turtle in front of him, by the nape of his neck. When he grabbed him, Sehwa coughed and struggled. It was fortunate that his hands were large. So he could grab both the Z2 case and Lee Sehwa at the same time. Of course, the case was just dangling by its lid, wedged between his fingers.

His eyes, wide with surprise as he looked back at Gi Taejeong, were round. Hmm, he really shouldn’t have worn lenses. At the same moment he had that leisurely thought, Pung, the bomb exploded.

Even if its power was small, a bomb was still a bomb. Gi Taejeong and Lee Sehwa were pushed forward by the blast of hot air from behind.

“Augh…!”

Lee Sehwa, especially, couldn’t even properly scream and fell heavily to the floor.

The fortunate thing was that the bomb’s force was concentrated towards the back due to hitting the metal grate, and thanks to the fire suppression tools stacked on the shelves, the fire didn’t spread as much as expected. Of course, that was only “as expected,” and if they hesitated any longer, they would quickly be consumed by the flames.

“Cough…”

Lee Sehwa, as if he’d suffered a mild concussion from the fall, was gasping, unable to regain his senses. His skin had only been scraped earlier, but now his ankle was swollen. What good was he if he was so weak?

“Medicine.”

When Gi Taejeong clicked his tongue and demanded the item, this time, Sehwa didn’t question or move sluggishly but quickly lifted his top. He seemed to understand that the situation was urgent. Gi Taejeong thought he wouldn’t have the presence of mind to open the zipper, so he did it himself. He opened the cross-body bag and swept the syringe inside into the Z2 case. When he closed the lid, click, the lock engaged again.

Gi Taejeong ran a hand through his disheveled hair and shook the object towards the ceiling. A tuk-tuk sound, like knocking, came from the in-ear monitor. It was a signal that confirmation was complete.

“Almost done.”

Gi Taejeong checked the condition of the old bazooka. It was so decrepit that it was already groaning after just a few hits to the shelf. He figured he could fire it two or three more times at most. Any more than that, and he, holding the bazooka, would be in danger. Gi Taejeong opened all the caps of the emergency fuel cans on the lower shelf and looked back at Lee Sehwa.

“Can you hold this? It’s not a bomb anymore.”

His nod was devoid of spirit. Soot smudged the skin that had begun to peel off from the heat. His grubby appearance was… even a stray dog living in a factory would look cleaner than that. Gi Taejeong clicked his tongue inwardly, unaware that his own lips were softening into a gentle curve.

“I can’t carry you this time.”

And this time, Lee Sehwa’s answer was not needed either. Gi Taejeong hoisted Lee Sehwa, who was hugging the Z2 case tightly as if it were a treasure, onto his shoulder and ran again. Around 9-5, the annoying shelves that filled the corridor finally disappeared. A little further from here was the exit.

At the same time, the ceiling shook precariously. It seemed like the rat hiding and watching was making one last desperate attempt. Gi Taejeong briefly put down Lee Sehwa, who was draped over him like luggage, and kicked the metal shelf hard. The shelf, about to fall, perfectly interlocked with the metal grate that was just extending downwards, unintentionally buying the two of them some time.

“Lee Sehwa!”

When he called out to him, still flustered inside, a little clarity returned to his eyes, which had been dazed from the shock.

He stumbled blindly with his eyes closed as he passed under the metal grate that was furiously trying to crush the shelf, but even with his feet soaked in blood, Lee Sehwa diligently walked towards Gi Taejeong. Well, in his own way, he was running.

In fact, Gi Taejeong could have gone and helped him. No, that would definitely be faster. He could just drag him out without carrying or holding him. His foot was injured, so he might whine about the pain, but hadn’t Lee Sehwa said he’d rather die than that?

But strangely, he couldn’t take his eyes off Lee Sehwa, who was limping towards him. The metal grate slamming down on the metal shelf with all its might, the continuous explosions, the flames flickering like red tongues beyond… And Lee Sehwa, who had all that behind him and was only looking at Gi Taejeong, that face, how was he supposed to accept it? Gi Taejeong stared blankly at Lee Sehwa’s clumsy and sorrowful steps, his gaze momentarily lost.

He snapped back to his senses when the hotdog wrapper-like top brushed his fingertips. Gi Taejeong pulled Lee Sehwa hard into an embrace and opened the exit. It was a metal door with a lock, but when he kicked and pushed it open, a gap wide enough for both of them to pass through appeared.

At the same time, the metal shelf, unable to withstand the weight of the metal grate pouring down from above, crumpled halfway. Lee Sehwa flinched at the hideous sound that echoed through his head.

“…End, it’s over…”

Lee Sehwa, clutching the case containing the drugs, nervously looked around.

“Is it over now?”

“Almost.”

Right behind the exit was an empty lot, and a few vehicles were visible, as if the stationed soldiers were using it as a parking lot. It must have been a space left empty during the design to install emergency escape equipment. The fact that they were using it as their own parking lot… they were truly insane bastards.

Gi Taejeong eyed the closest parked car, a luxury sports car that someone had probably bought on an installment plan, pulling their soul into it. He could almost hear the screams of the guy who might already be dead. Well, who told him to park here?

As soon as he placed his hand on the hood to check the car’s condition, tuk-tuk-tuk, a signal came through his in-ear monitor. It was permission to go wild without worrying about being noticed, as all necessary data had been secured and the CCTV lines had been completely messed up.

Gi Taejeong brought his watch to the door’s sensor. Vehicles registered under a soldier’s name, even if personal property, were subject to requisition in emergencies. It would have been a bit troublesome if it were an unregistered vehicle, but fortunately, it could be controlled easily.

As Gi Taejeong pressed the button to start the engine and opened the sunroof, Lee Sehwa, holding onto the tattered fake face skin, headed for the passenger seat. A dazzling car logo flashed on the center console, and an AI cheerfully announced that autonomous driving mode had been set.

“We’re about to leave.”

Gi Taejeong pulled the bazooka he had put down and closed the driver’s side door. The long, large, terrifying object pressed down on the console and majestically rose out of the sunroof. Sehwa unconsciously gripped the underside of the barrel. It swayed precariously, as if it might fall on him.

Gi Taejeong, seemingly uncomfortable with the seat pushed close to the steering wheel, nervously pressed various buttons. He might have even grumbled, “Damn short-legged bastard, buying a car like this.” As soon as he stepped on the accelerator, the car shot forward like an arrow. A terrifying exhaust sound poured in through the wide-open sunroof. Sehwa’s body was thrown forward with a peok due to not having his seatbelt properly fastened. The impact was enough to make his already tattered skin flap wildly.

“Are you a cat? Why is your body so limp?”

Gi Taejeong, who had chided him, pulled Sehwa’s hand.

“Fasten your seatbelt, and when I give the signal, make sure to press this button.”

His finger landed on the button marked ‘S’ near the gear shift.