Chapter 174: < Protect – Episode 173 – Korea National Association [4] >

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Nobuhisa wasn’t so happy about stepping on Korean soil these days. He was glad his neighboring country was in chaos, but he didn’t want to get too close to the beast either. However, what else could he do? That was the sadness of a man working on a salary.

“Shall we contact Hosoo Entertainment?”

“They probably already know.”

“Pardon?”

Nobuhisa sincerely wanted to cry when his subordinate asked how they knew they were in Korea with his facial expression.

‘They have no idea how dangerous Mr. Ahn is. But then again… they’ve never experienced him in person.’

It had only been a year since Ahn Soo Ho retired.

But in the intelligence world, 1 year was quite a long time. Europe, North America, and the Middle East suffered drastic changes while South America and Africa simply suffered. And as for Asia, it was starting to look hazy with China and Japan acting up. Nobuhisa was a proud Japanese who looked down on Koreans, but there was one he couldn’t dare to look down on.

‘It’s true that subsidiaries are important influences, but if something goes wrong, the mainland can become dangerous, too. But the leading members don’t know that.’

Japanese influences connected with Korea National Association referred to each other as brothers. In the midst of their reconstruction following their downfall, the powers of Japan didn’t look away from Korea for a single second.

‘There are many in the Korean peninsula who are still friendly with Japan!’

The Empire of Japan still had a large influence over Asia. The Chinese Communist Party put the anti-Japanese and anti-Americans forward to pull out the roots, but once the Korean peninsula was split into two, they were unable to straighten out their past. On the contrary, it was the pro-Japanese groups with Americans on their backs that rose to power.

Since studying in America was hard, the Korean elites of the 60s and 70s studied in Japan instead. America was certainly number 1. However, it was not easy to go over there. During the times when black people were being discriminated against, it was unrealistic for Asians to go and expect an education. That was why many of the upper class purposely chose to study in Japan.

‘In any country, the conciliation between the elites is pretty much game over.’

Japan’s strategy was simple but effective.

‘People are endlessly greedy, and it’s all fine as long as you’re living a good life on your own.’

It wasn’t common to run into leaders that stay loyal to the historical missions and beliefs. During the pro-independence movement, there weren’t many figures that were politically bright. Many people didn’t realize that there was a difference between being good at pro-independence movements and being good at politics.

“I’ll contact Hosoo Group. Tell everyone to refrain from engaging in external activities and stand by.”

“But!”

“That’s an order!”

Nobuhisa cut off his subordinate. He knew what he was going to say. The superior office ordered them to get rid of Bridal Mask, and in order to do that, they had to understand Korea’s situation and trends. It didn’t make sense to find Bridal Mask without going outside, but Nobuhisa couldn’t let that happen.

‘As long as Korea is a complete neutrality zone, any inappropriate external activity can become a good excuse for them.’

Just because Ahn Soo Ho was on TV a lot didn’t mean he was less vicious. That would be ridiculous. Just like he did in Indonesia and Hong Kong, he was someone who was capable of getting violent if anything happened. The superior office half-doubted the person behind Bridal Mask, but he was sure.

‘He’s definitely Bridal Mask.’

He didn’t know how, but he believed there must have been a way to go from Seoul to Busan in a few minutes. Nobuhisa thought that Code Name Wizard could have been a real wizard. While he contemplated how he could contact Ahn Soo Ho, the NIS was faced with another headache. Han Joo Young, who was pushed to be in charge of the team monitoring Ahn Soo Ho, rubbed his face out of frustration.

“This is driving me crazy.”

There was a lot of resentment from the people regarding how they failed the civilian inspection and wiretapping, but NIS was still the intelligence agency representing Korea. And an organization working for a country’s profits was bound to be dirty. If it was for the good of the nation, they didn’t hesitate to bribe, assassinate, and commit political maneuvering.

All countries were criticized when their intelligence agencies carried out civilian inspections, but no agents thought of it as a fault. Why? Because once something happened, it was already too late. People criticized that illegally obtained personal information could be misused, but it was all fine as long as they didn’t get caught. Han Joo Young believed that the NIS needed to be as secretive and persistent as the CIA.

After Snowden exposed America’s illegal monitoring system, the US president made illegal information activity illegal, but did that mean they really took their hands off of it? Not at all. They changed the name and created another illegal monitoring system. When it came to some things, even the public just wanted to be left in the dark. Ignorance was bliss.

‘Security isn’t a beautiful thing.’

If one hated injustice, they were better off not being an intelligence agent.

“What about the guys?”

“They’re all standing by at multiple hotels.”

“Any movements?”

The subordinate shook his head in response to Han Joo Young’s question.

“No movements, huh…?”

There wasn’t much information regarding the suspicious Japanese organization that came from Japan. The only truth that was confirmed was that they were trash disposals that were secretly raised in Japan.

‘It’s highly likely that the Japanese government doesn’t know.’

Japanese public security was just as cruel as Chinese public security. They were dressed up as police officers, but they were different from police officers we commonly knew.

“What’s his objective?”

“Seeing how he was called by Korea National Association, he’s probably trying to get rid of Bridal Mask. Not even Youngjin Group has been able to do anything about it.”

The NIS wasn’t a simple organization that the public could understand right away. Korea National Association knew the NIS and vice versa. The reason why they were waiting was because there was no guarantee that either side would win if they fought. In contrast to the public that always dissed the NIS, the ones with power knew just how scary information could be. That was why they tried to plant their men in the NIS.

“There’s going to be a lot of blood in Naegok-dong.”

“We’re pretty safe in comparison.”

“Weren’t you the one complaining that we dispatched too many men just for one person?”

“Come on! Why are you bringing up the past?”

The initial number of men on the team in charge of Ahn Soo How was 50, but Han Joo Young took the overlapping organizations into consideration and estimated there to be hundreds. There were many expressions of dissatisfaction about how he invested too much funding into monitoring one man. Han Joo Young, who was considered to be promising in the organization, was frustrated in the beginning that he couldn’t fast-track to success.

‘Whether they’re enemies or whatever, what’s important is that they knew Ahn Soo Ho.’

In this world, Ahn Soo Ho was a living legend.

“Team Leader Han!”

“Yeah?”

“Someone who seems to be the head is moving! He’s calling someone!”

“Who did he call?”

“Hosoo Group!”

Was he trying to meet Ahn Soo Ho? And why weren’t they using a secured line? The team in charge must have thought the same thing because they frowned. They felt as if it was true that Japan was looking down on Korea, but that didn’t mean it was a good idea to face off with Japan either.

‘If Bridal Mask is really Ahn Soo Ho…’

If Korea National Association really went down because of Bridal Mask, there was going to be a huge power vacuum. Youngjin Group was just Korea National Association’s puppet, but most of the employees were just regular people. Aside from the top 1% that ruled over the company, the remaining 99% were just diligent employees.

Only 1% knew the horrible truth. How many people would have turned down an offer of a salary exceeding hundreds of millions of won? Prostitutes didn’t deserve to be insulted. There was no difference between a prostitute selling her body on the streets and an elite who got his Ph.D. with a high school diploma alone and working for hundreds of millions of won.

In that sense, Korea was controlled by the 1% elites, and that 1% was composed of high officials, politicians, and rich people. As long as rights and interests were guaranteed, there were tons of commoners who were ready to devote themselves to their greed. It was easier to hop over to the bad side than the good side.

“Team Leader Han! The government department has requested another update!”

“Give them whatever they want.”

The fact that the NIS was monitoring Ahn Soo Ho was a secret, but most government departments knew about it. When Bridal Mask first appeared, most with quick sense suspected Ahn Soo Ho. However, the updated location information of Ahn Soo Ho that the team in charge obtained proved that he had nothing to do with Bridal Mask. Why?

‘Because it’s not physically possible.’

It was impossible to go from Seoul to Busan in a matter of minutes.

‘It’s not like he teleported like in Dragon Ball Z.’

If that was possible, Ahn Soo Ho was always capable of creating the perfect alibi.

The key members of the Korea National Association who were full of anxiety all gathered in the bunker.

“How could he have killed President Yang when he was in the middle of a hearing at the National Assembly?”

“He’s suspicious, but there’s no way Ahn Soo Ho is the culprit going around killing people!”

“Since he was once in the mercenary world, maybe he hired an outstanding assassin! Why don’t we hire one, too, and…”

“Watch your mouth! We’re not criminals!”

“And even if we wanted, would anyone take on the job? Even the international mafias fear Ahn Soo Ho! They’d have to be some lowly group from South East Asia or something.”

Ahn Soo Ho was only Korean on the outside, with the power and background of something completely unrelated to Korea. The same went for Hosoo Entertainment. The funding was 100% from foreign sources. If they had debts, they could have threatened the banks to impose some influence, but there was no way they did. Or they could have mobilized a high official to lay down an institutional regulation, but after the paparazzi scandal, all companies and government departments were fearing whistle-blowers.

“What did the Comradery Association say?”

“The military is in political neutrality.”

“Ha! That’s ridiculous! They’re a bunch of political soldiers! But what? Political neutrality? That’s not even funny!”

“There are Ahn Soo Ho’s former classmates, but they’re hard to approach as well. This is all because of that Lee Kyung Joon.”

“Ahem!”

“Ahem!”

Lee Geun Taek, who led the previous executive committee, might have died, but there were still many key members. And they instinctively minded Lee Ji Heon’s gaze. When they saw Lee Ji Heon with his eyes closed, they had no interest in joining the conversation. Lee Ji Heon’s friend and right hand, Nam Tae Gook spoke up first.

“Chairman Lee. Since we’ve gathered already, shouldn’t we set up measures on how to deal with Bridal Mask?”

“I agree, Chairman Lee. We asked the mainland for help, but they only sent over 200 men.”

“Isn’t 200 enough?”

“You don’t know what’s going on, do you?”

As soon as Nam Tae Gook noticed them tilting their heads, he put up a screen using a remote control. The new CCTV’s quality was quite good. A man wearing a mask took on 30 guards armed with guns and took them all down.

No other words were needed.

They were all wiped out.

“Ahem!”

Heavy groans filled the room.

“What are they called again? Aren’t they the guys raised by Ultra?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why did they all went down? Were they trained properly?”

“They’re the most superior in terms of skill.”

“Then… why did they… Sigh.”

He didn’t ask because he didn’t know.

The expensive Ultra program yielded great effects. He knew that, but strength was a relative thing. The Korea National Association guards who were a part of the special forces were all wiped out. There was barely even a fight. What was scary was that they lost despite having used guns.

‘He can dodge bullets?’

‘Is Bridal Mask human? Does he have supernatural powers?’

“Is he human?”

It was a ridiculous question, but it also came from their hearts.

“The reason why Bridal Mask is being hostile towards us must have something to do with Ahn Soo Ho. First, we must meet with him and…”

“There’s no need for that.”

Everyone was frightened after suddenly hearing an unfamiliar voice. The person who showed the strongest response was none other than Nam Tae Gook.

“Gasp!”

He fell over backward in a comical way, but no one was in the mood to laugh. Ahn Soo Ho whistled. He didn’t know how Leeper talked Lee Ji Heon into it, but the key members of Korea National Association, as well as veteran members, were gathered in the bunker.

“How?”

“How did I get in? That’s not what’s important here.”

The bunker could only be accessed by those of Korea national Association. Not even the security guards could enter. They all ran towards the door. Across the heavy door were heavily armed men who were on stand by. However, they forgot one important fact.

Ahn Soo Ho used his hand to whip all of them to the wall. They screamed because of pain. Those who flinched took a step back from him if they could.

He then winked at Lee Ji Heon when no one was looking.

He liked the rotten look on his face.

“Yeah, that’s the face I wanted to see. Why were such criminals being so proud?”

If one committed a crime, it was only right for them to fret their guts.

“You stepped on innocent people in the cruelest way to be where you are now. Oh, and don’t even try making excuses. I already finished the investigation. You’re a bunch of scumbags. You’re such trash that you can’t even be recycled. But did you know? I’m stronger than the weak, but I’m even stronger than the strong. And when I see assholes like you, I can’t hold back.”

If there was justice in the world, it wasn’t right for people like them to succeed. But in reality, the sly ones kept winning while the fair ones kept losing. The winners of the game had been decided from the start. But not today. This time, it was their turn to be losers.

“Just…”

Ahn Soo Ho scanned all of their faces. Only Lee Ji Heon was worth something while the rest were just useless bluffers.

“Die.”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho knitted his brows, the sounds of something breaking was paired with people plopping onto the floor like broken dolls. Lee Ji Heon, who was the only one left standing, just stood in silence. 38 key members of the Korea National Association just died all at once.

‘This… this is such a shameful ending!’

He was about to scream but gulped it back down.

“I’m only keeping you alive because I might be able to use you, Lee Ji Heon. It’s wrong to defy a living power. Don’t you agree?”

That was the same warning that Lee Ji Heon threw at young Ahn Soo Ho over a decade ago. Ahn Soo Ho turned on the TV with the remote. He changed the channel until he arrived at a screen of a baseball field. Despite the scandals and Bridal Mask, pro sports was still happening as planned. Come to think of it, Ahn Soo Ho was also wearing a baseball uniform and cap.

“But if you’re going to live on, you’d better remember today. Forever.”

When Lee Ji Heon blinked, Ahn Soo Ho was no longer there.

“Huh?”

Was he possessed by ghosts? The dead bodies in front of him didn’t seem like an illusion.

Wow! The person who will open the game today is…

Lee Ji Heon, who unconsciously turned toward the screen in response to the noise, plopped down onto the ground. In the screen was Ahn Soo Ho, who was headed toward the mound with a bright smile on his face.

‘How could he smile like that after killing 38 people?’

“Agh!”

Lee Ji Heon screamed in horror.

< Protect – Episode 173 – Korea National Association [4] > The end.

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