LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 78
Chapter 78
“Ugh.”
Kang Baek groaned as he climbed up the mountain.
He had roughly scouted the mountain path in the morning, but climbing it at night with just a flashlight didn’t seem to help much.
They shone their flashlights here and there, slowly making their way up the trail, piecing together their memories.
“It’s your first time, so it’s understandable. After a few climbs, you’ll be able to make it with your eyes closed.”
Si-hyun encouraged him like that.
It was true.
This wouldn’t be wrapped up in just one or two weeks.
If they kept this up for months, climbing this mountain would become second nature.
“Sigh… but isn’t this just a complete waste of time? What’s the chance that bastard shows up on this mountain? It’s like waiting to get struck by lightning!”
Kang Baek complained with a heavy sigh.
“Well, it may seem like that if we just protect this spot. But do you know how many people are out searching just to catch that guy? Plus, it’s not just people. These days, every place is crawling with CCTV. So his movement will be very limited.”
What Si-hyun said wasn’t the whole story.
The police had even deployed drones to track Kang Tae-eun’s whereabouts from the sky.
It was a thorough search operation, to say the least.
“But why the hell aren’t they catching him? Is he really the one who committed murder? Did he flee abroad or something? This is just ridiculous….”
Kang Baek said incredulously.
All eyes were on him, as everyone was searching for him.
But instead of hiding away, he was running around committing murder?
Does that even make sense?
“That’s something I’m curious about too.”
Si-hyun shook his head.
They had climbed slowly, but before they knew it, they had reached the point they had scouted during the day.
It was a fork in the mountain trail.
If it were a one-way path, they’d have hidden at the trailhead.
But when there are multiple paths, hiding at the entrance only allows them to monitor people coming up that way.
However, if they hid at a fork like this, they could observe anyone passing through.
The fact that the two bodies were not found at the mountain’s entrance influenced their choice of ambush point.
“Not even a single mouse around.”
Kang Baek mumbled.
He hadn’t seen a single shadow of a person during their climb.
Only the sounds of birds and insects filled the air.
“Let’s be quiet now.”
Si-hyun said in a low voice.
They weren’t here for leisure.
They had come to stakeout.
They had no intention of wasting time idly chatting.
The reason he volunteered for this job was that he had a hunch they might discover Kang Tae-eun.
So once they were on duty, he planned to take it seriously.
“Understood, hyung.”
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere, Kang Baek lowered his voice too.
They settled into the most comfortable position they could manage.
After all, it was dark, and there was little chance of being discovered without actively trying to hide in the underbrush.
Time passed in silence.
“…!?”
Si-hyun suddenly shook Kang Baek’s body.
Kang Baek looked at him, questioning what was going on.
“I heard something.”
Si-hyun whispered softly into Kang Baek’s ear.
Kang Baek looked back with a clueless expression.
Despite having the same D-rank license, Si-hyun’s stats had already reached C-rank thanks to his previous quest completions.
That allowed him to perceive things Kang Baek couldn’t.
He heard a voice, something resembling a person, coming from somewhere over there.
Si-hyun rose slowly and dashed towards the direction of the sound with incredible speed.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Ughh!”
The woman struggled with a desperate look on her face.
But her body was bound by something, and she couldn’t move properly. All she could do was wriggle on the ground; she couldn’t stand up or escape.
Her mouth was taped shut, preventing her from crying out.
“Heh heh. Stay still, you bitch.”
A chubby man in gloves said with a smug smile.
The heavy-set man looked like he was having the time of his life.
The moment he had been waiting for was finally here.
Time for revenge.
It filled him with an electrifying thrill.
“You damn bitch, why’d you laugh at me? Huh? Why did you laugh?!”
The chubby man shouted in a heated voice.
The woman, tears streaming down her face, let out muffled sounds of fear and pain.
“I won’t forget this. Huh? I won’t forget!”
The chubby man was the embodiment of inferiority complex.
He felt that the whole world laughed at him for being fat, unattractive, and without a decent job.
That inferiority turned into slowly building grudge.
And eventually.
When that grudge crossed the line and drove him insane, he found a target to unleash it on.
That target was the woman right in front of him.
The office worker who had laughed at him one day when he went to a government office.
Of course, her laughter had nothing to do with him.
He was merely trapped by his own inferiority, mistaking her laughter as mockery directed at him.
But that misunderstanding led to this situation.
He stalked her, looking for the chance to pounce, and when the opportunity arose, he swooped in like a beast, ultimately leading to her kidnapping.
“Heh heh. How long have I been waiting for this day? You know?”
The chubby man said with a twisted smile, flipping on his portable light to shine it on the woman before putting it down on the ground.
The lighting was crucial for what was about to unfold.
Very crucial.
Then, the chubby man climbed on the woman’s back.
As his heavy weight pressed down, she found herself unable to budge even an inch.
Her face turned pale with fear and despair over the horrific fate that awaited her.
Seeing her like that, the chubby man stuck out his tongue and smirked.
“You bad bitch, did you call me fat? Did you laugh at me? Did you snicker because I smelled? Did you scoff at me for sweating?”
“Ugh, ughhh!”
The woman writhed, her face pale, but couldn’t escape the chubby man’s grasp at all.
Just as the man moved to tear her clothes—
“Cut it out, you dog bastard!”
Out of nowhere, a man’s voice rang out.
The voice was filled with fury.
“Huh?! Wh-who are you?!”
The chubby man looked shocked, startled by the sudden voice.
“Ughh!”
The woman desperately tried to scream for help, as if she were pleading for liberation from the tape that covered her mouth.
“Get up right now, you bastard.”
The voice came from behind.
The chubby man turned his head with a tense expression.
His eyes met those of a man in a winter jacket.
It was Si-hyun.
The chubby man’s head spun around quickly.
The other person clearly showed intense animosity towards him.
An enemy.
A foe that needed to be eliminated.
But he didn’t look like an easy target.
Though he had a knife hidden in his pocket, it felt like he couldn’t confidently eliminate him even if he drew it.
In that case.
The chubby man swiftly drew the knife, wrapping it around the woman’s neck and pressing the blade against her chin.
“Don’t you dare come any closer, you bastard! If you move even a step, I’ll kill her!”
“Ughh!”
The chubby man’s gaze remained fixed on Si-hyun.
With a threatening look that promised he’d sever her throat at the slightest hint of movement.
Seeing that, Si-hyun froze in place.
He didn’t even open his mouth.
The chubby man believed his threats had worked and let out a sigh of relief.
He had succeeded in taking control of the situation for now.
So now, to escape—
“You bastard! From now on… Gah?!”
Crash!
The sound of a watermelon bursting echoed through the air.
Clang!
The sound of a knife clattering to the ground followed.
Along with that, the chubby man crumpled down to the side.
Kang Baek, who had snuck up from behind, had struck the chubby man on the back of the head with all his might.
Kang Baek was seething with emotion, unable to suppress his fury.
“Scum like this should have their bits chopped off!”
“Agreed.”
Si-hyun replied.
Rape is a heinous crime that destroys another person’s life for someone else’s pleasure.
Moreover, this could have escalated to murder.
It was a sheer stroke of luck that he and Kang Baek were present; otherwise, unimaginable horrors would have been inflicted upon her.
“Kang Baek, call the police immediately.”
Si-hyun said, handing over his jacket to the victim.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Wow, I never thought anything like that would happen on the first day!”
After that incident, Kang Baek’s expression had changed.
Initially, he seemed unsatisfied about having to stakeout in the mountains, but after saving a woman who nearly became a victim of rape, he looked more fulfilled than he ever had in his job as a Correctional Officer.
He said he had never received such a heartfelt thank you from anyone before.
Si-hyun also felt relief and a sense of reward.
“Exactly. It’s funny how destiny works out.”
“What’s this about destiny all of a sudden?”
“Just a thought I had.”
If it weren’t for the Awakened Being, especially the fact that he himself was theoretically at C-rank, they might not have been able to prevent this incident.
For that woman, it was practically a fateful rescue.
“Ah, speaking of which, finally a day off, are we going anywhere?”
Kang Baek said.
Their work pattern was to stakeout from Monday to Saturday and rest on Sunday.
They said there were separate personnel to handle just Sunday.
Thanks to that, after finishing their stakeout on Saturday, Kang Baek had come down, taken a quick rest, and was now relaxing in their lodge after a long time.
Time had already reached Sunday noon.
Having slept and recovered some energy, he seemed to want to go out somewhere.
“Why? Is there anywhere you want to go?”
Si-hyun asked.
“Well, not really, but I’m feeling restless being indoors.”
“Okay, got it. Let’s just head out for now without a particular destination.”
Si-hyun didn’t want to stay cooped up in the lodge either.
“Sounds good.”
Kang Baek responded in a cheerful tone.
◈ ◈ ◈
He felt dizzy.
It had been a long time since he had last eaten.
Killing a man was not a meal.
It was nothing more than the act of rummaging through garbage to survive, nothing more, nothing less.
A woman.
Killing a woman was the only real meal.
He craved that exhilarating sensation that cascaded down his throat and satisfyingly filled his belly.
It had been too long.
Far too long.
So he had made up his mind.
Today, he would eat.
Perfectly timed, that thorn in his side, Baek-wol, had crossed over to Japan.
It couldn’t be more suitable for a meal than now.
“Haah….”
Kang Tae-eun, sitting on a bench, exhaled a long puff of smoke from his cigarette before crushing the butt into the ground with his boot.
It was still daytime.
It wasn’t time to move yet.
When the sun went down and darkness enveloped everything, no one would catch a glimpse of his movements.
He planned to wait until then.
Kang Tae-eun glanced at his watch and then closed his eyes.