With a thunderous explosion that shook the ground, the underground tunnel trembled violently.
Small stones fell and struck the roof of the car Kim Jongil was riding in.
“What is it? What was that sound?”
Kim Jongil asked, startled.
At that mont, another explosion went off, and the tunnel shook even harder.
Baek Cheolsu rolled down the window and leaned his head out.
There was nothing visible ahead. But······.
When Baek Cheolsu looked up at the ceiling, his face stiffened.
“General. I think we need to turn back. The tunnel is about to collapse.”
“Cheolsu, what are you talking about?”
“It seems soone is trying to bring down the underground tunnel.”
“What?”
Kim Jongil asked, trembling, but Baek Cheolsu had no composure left to answer him.
“Turn the car around. Now!”
“Yes!”
The soldier holding the steering wheel hurriedly turned the car around.
“All vehicles, turn around! We’re going back.”
Baek Cheolsu imdiately relayed the order to the other cars, and the vehicles carrying Kim Jongil’s family and Jang Songthaek also turned their wheels toward the villa.
Because it was a narrow two-lane road, they had to go back and forth several tis before they could finally run in the opposite direction.
Even as they did, another explosion rang out. The cracks spreading across the ceiling and walls of the underground tunnel widened even further.
“Step on it. Floor it with everything you’ve got!!”
Baek Cheolsu shouted furiously, and the cars picked up even more speed.
“Cheolsu.”
“Yes, General.”
“······What in the world is going on?”
“It seems the attackers anticipated your escape, General, and are trying to collapse the underground tunnel. The way ahead is probably already blocked.”
“Then does that an the East Sea Fleet Command can’t send support?”
“They won’t be able to co through the underground tunnel, but troop support should still be possible via land and sea.”
If the East Sea Fleet Command ca by land or sea instead of through the underground tunnel, it would take over two hours.
“Those bastards... how did they know about the underground tunnel? They prepared properly, didn’t they?”
“······It’s likely that soone nearby is working with them.”
As he answered, Baek Cheolsu recalled Jang Songthaek in his mind.
But he did not commit the mistake of speaking his na out loud.
“As far as I know, only a handful of people even know about the underground tunnel. This place was personally designed and built by you, General.”
“That’s right.”
Kim Jongil nodded.
“Looking at how they know your schedule, your location, and even this guesthouse, and how they imdiately cut the communication lines... soone who knows you very well must have provided them with information.”
“That’s right. That’s right.”
Very few people in the Republic t all of those conditions.
Even the Guard Command responsible for his protection did not know everything.
“Hm. Jang Songthaek is the most likely one. But if that were the case, shouldn’t he not be following us here? No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.”
“I understand that Director Jang redirected the schedule here from another guesthouse we were originally supposed to go to.”
“That’s right.”
Baek Cheolsu glanced at Kim Jongil’s face and continued.
“If this had happened sowhere closer to Pyongyang, it would have already been suppressed. Special Villa No. 74 is far too far from Pyongyang.”
“······.”
“Everything is strange. Why did we have to co here in the middle of winter, and······ why did an attack happen at exactly this ti?”
At Baek Cheolsu’s words, Kim Jongil closed his eyes and sank into thought.
Small stones continued to fall onto the speeding vehicles.
Igor and the rcenaries began entering the building.
Igor did not go in at first, instead scanning the surroundings and standing guard.
“There’s no one here.”
At the voices of the rcenaries who entered first, Igor and the rest of the rcenaries moved inside as well.
Igor gave a hand signal to the rcenaries. After confirming the signal, they split into two groups.
One team guarded the stairway, while the other began searching the area.
Since the power had already been completely cut, deep darkness had settled inside the building.
The rcenaries all lowered the infrared night-vision goggles mounted on their helts.
Igor also put on his night-vision goggles last and spoke.
“Search from the first floor.”
Standing at the entrance, Igor issued orders while keeping watch on the surroundings.
At the sa ti, he checked his watch.
Then, with an earth-shaking explosion, he felt the ground tremble slightly.
‘Looks like the underground tunnel demolition went smoothly.’
A short while later, the search of the first floor was completed.
There had been scattered skirmishes, but they were able to kill everyone on the first floor without suffering major losses.
“There’s no target.”
At his subordinate’s report, Igor nodded.
Just then, the radio crackled, and a voice ca through.
— Alpha, this is Team Three. Underground tunnel demolition is complete.
“Good. The target might head that way just in case, so hold your position.”
— Understood.
After ending the transmission, Igor called Ivan next.
“Ivan, report!”
— We’re moving toward the train station.
“Contact if anything cos up.”
— Understood.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
‘Chairman Kim Jongil will either move to the underground bunker or head to the East Sea Fleet Command through the underground tunnel.’
Those were the words Jang Songthaek had passed on.
Recalling the information Jang Songthaek had given him, Igor calmly redrew the building’s blueprints in his head.
Having finished his thoughts, he opened his mouth.
“Leave a few n to guard the stairs. The rest move underground.”
After selecting the rcenaries to guard the stairs, he opened the door leading down.
As they slowly descended the pitch-black stairs, soone suddenly appeared.
Before any orders could be given, one of the rcenaries fired his gun.
Bang!
With a single gunshot, the shadow collapsed limply.
“Check.”
One rcenary slowly moved down toward it, while the others aid their guns and stayed alert.
After checking the face, the rcenary shook his head.
Even after that, several more engagents occurred, but thanks to the difference in equipnt, they achieved overwhelming victories.
After killing all the troops stationed on underground level one, they stood in front of the closed door leading down to underground level two.
One rcenary grabbed the handle without any suspicion.
Click!
“Get down!”
At the ominous sound, Igor shouted urgently and threw himself to the side.
Boom!
With an explosion, the steel door leading underground was blown off.
Igor steadied himself and watched the doorway. When no one ca out even after so ti, he finally looked at the rcenary who had tried to open the door.
Not only was one of the rcenary’s arms completely blown off, but shrapnel was embedded all over his body, blood pouring everywhere.
At Igor’s chin gesture, another rcenary moved and approached the fallen man.
Monts later, he shook his head.
It was a signal that he was already dead. The result of forgetting the most basic of basics.
“Everyone stay sharp. This isn’t over yet.”
“Yes.”
Only one rcenary had died, but quite a few had suffered minor injuries from the fairly large explosion.
“Check again, then enter.”
At Igor’s order, the rcenaries checked below.
“There’s no one.”
“Move in.”
The rcenaries took the lead, and Igor slowly descended the stairs, watching their rear.
After the explosion, they were able to move deeper inside without any further firefights.
However, as they passed through a dark corridor, people suddenly rushed out from around a corner.
The rcenaries moved first.
As they ducked and unleashed a barrage of gunfire, the other side began firing back as well.
The exchange was brief.
Before long, after confirming that all opponents were down, the rcenaries moved.
After checking the enemy’s equipnt, one of the rcenaries unconsciously touched his own night-vision goggles.
Unlike the North Korean soldiers wearing cheap body armor without even night-vision goggles, they were clad in state-of-the-art equipnt bought with vast sums of money.
Thanks to that, the rcenaries had taken gunshot wounds, but nothing fatal.
“We’ll reach the underground bunker soon. Everyone who can move follows . Those who can’t, treat your wounds here and wait.”
“Yes.”
Igor spoke to the man closest to him.
“Nikolai, you stay here and watch over the wounded.”
“Yes!”
Leaving the injured behind, the rcenaries following Igor moved forward slowly.
Soldiers who hadn’t died instantly writhed on the floor.
“Confirm kills.”
A few more gunshots rang out, and the fallen soldiers no longer moved.
Only after confirming that they were all dead did the rcenaries begin moving again.
The underground was twisted like a maze, but Igor knew the location of the underground bunker.
After walking for quite so ti [N O V E L I G H T] and turning several corners, they finally arrived in front of the underground bunker Kim Jongil used for ergencies.
Standing before the tightly sealed bunker door, Igor lifted his night-vision goggles back onto his helt.
Whether Jang Songthaek’s claim that it received separate power from an ergency generator was true or not, the tightly closed door showed no sign of opening.
“Blow it.”
One of the rcenaries pulled several explosives from his gear and attached them to the door.
“Installation complete.”
“Everyone fall back.”
After confirming that everyone had retreated, Igor gave the signal.
Seeing it, the rcenary detonated the explosives attached to the door.
A mont later, a loud sound echoed. The door shattered and fragnts flew, but since they were far enough away, there was no major damage.
As the aftershock brushed past the rcenaries’ faces and the smoke cleared, a faint light beca visible.
“Cover .”
Igor took the lead, and the rcenaries followed behind him.
But there was no one inside the bunker.
“Looks like they went down the underground tunnel.”
Just as they moved to find the entrance to the underground tunnel.
Suddenly, the study door opened, and soldiers appeared.
They were glaring at the rcenaries with their guns trained on them.
Behind them stood Kim Jongil, his family, and Jang Songthaek with a gun pressed to his head.
“You bastard sons of bitches. Who the hell are you?”
Kim Jongil asked. But no one there could understand him.
When no answer ca, Kim Jongil shouted again.
“I asked who you are!”
Igor shouted in Russian.
“Target confird! Everyone hold!”
At the sudden Russian, Kim Jongil’s eyes widened. Soon, Russian ca out of his own mouth.
“You were Soviet dogs?”
Igor did not answer the question.
“I’ll give you a chance now. Drop your weapons and surrender, and I’ll spare your lives.”
“What? Spare our lives? Do you even know who I am to be saying that?”
Igor said nothing and simply stared at Kim Jongil.
“Answer . Do you know who I am and you’re still doing this? Who ordered you? Did the Russian governnt tell you to kill ?”
“This is your final warning. Drop your weapons and raise your hands. Or you die.”
“Uahahahaha!”
Kim Jongil laughed like a madman.
“You’re going to kill ? You bastards are going to kill , Kim Jongil? If you kill , you won’t make it out of here alive. You know that?”
“······.”
Kim Jongil sent a look to Baek Cheolsu, who was holding Jang Songthaek.
From the back, Baek Cheolsu dragged Jang Songthaek forward.
“Did Jang Songthaek order this? Did he say to join hands with the Russian governnt and get rid of ?”
“······.”
“If I die, this bastard dies too.”
At the low threat, Igor pulled a handgun from his chest and fired without hesitation.
“Ghk!”
Letting out a short groan, Jang Songthaek’s body tilted.
Blood stread down from his left thigh.
“The one important to us is you, not anyone else. Everyone here can die, and it makes no difference to us.”
Kim Jongil, clearly not expecting Igor to fire without any warning, stared blankly back and forth between Jang Songthaek and Igor.
Looking at him, Igor spoke firmly.
“Don’t even think about buying ti. Everyone drop your weapons and surrender. Or you all die together.”
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