SOG Ch 65

“Get in your seat! Quickly!”

The criminals forced people into the empty seats haphazardly. Seon Jae-chan lowered his head and found a seat amidst the confusion. He even put on black 3D glasses naturally, allowing the glasses to hide his expression. He raised his head, and through the mirror-like lenses, he saw the reflections of the criminals standing in front of the screen.

“From now on, each of you should call your relatives and friends, and let them know that you’ve become hostages. Don’t try anything foolish. We’ll make holes in your heads!”

In the center of the screen, a man who appeared to be the leader shouted. He was the one wearing the turned-over black beanie.

“Deliver it realistically, I mean it, realistically! Make the President run to us like a frog in a swamp!”

Despite his gruff tone, Seon Jae-chan easily recognized who the speaker was.

The color and length of hair that peeked out from under the beanie, the peculiarly prominent eyes visible between the slits, and the muscular physique—everything was familiar.

He was one of the attraction guides.

‘Yes. Kids like it because it’s noisy.’

It was undoubtedly the man who had said that.

He had memorized the characteristics of the guides in preparation for a situation like this. Later on, it turned out that one of the hostages was a Universal Park employee, thanks to the media’s relentless coverage.

“Well, that’s police station…”

Some citizens called to report the incident, but the criminals paid no attention as they kept watching over the people. In fact, they seemed to hope that their crime would be spread throughout the entire Union as soon as possible.

Seon Jae-chan was also taking out his cell phone. He was watching the movements of the criminals who were passing by. However, as soon as he was about to make the call, he stopped.

[Call: Esper Go Woojin]

A notification banner from the Guide app popped up.

A siren sign smaller than the little fingernail. Upon Seon Jae-chan’s insistence to call directly, Go Woo-jin, who had recently started using the app a few times, made the call at this particular moment. It was about 30 minutes ago.

However, Jae-chan was in no position to look at his phone any longer. He didn’t know when he would get closer to the hostage-takers again. Seon Jae-chan struggled to regain his focus and immediately made the call he had intended.

[Team Leader Hong Ye-deok]

Rrring. Fortunately, after a few attempts, Team Leader Hong picked up the call. Jae-chan was preparing to search for Chang-hyun’s name in case she didn’t pick up.

“Team Leader Hong. The calls are automatically recorded, right?”

It was Team Manager Hong Ye-deok’s habit of recording phone calls from time to time. It was effective in preventing complaints, and she claimed it was much more convenient because her memory was fading with age.

– Yes. It’s being recorded.

Hong Team Leader responded calmly to Jae-chan’s unexpected question.

“I’m being held hostage at Universal Park. There are seventeen armed criminals here. Most of them are using P60A1 rifles. Some have knives stuck to gun barrels.”

Jae-chan quickly conveyed the situation to the Team Leader.

His voice was clearly being drowned out by the voices of over a hundred people on the phone like in the middle of a crowded market. Despite the anxiety and sadness on his face, Jae-chan spoke clearly through his hand-covered lips.

“The criminals plan to blow up the wall around midnight tomorrow and then kill the hostages by making them escape there.”

Then he added abruptly, as he needed to prioritize information in case time was limited.

– They’re intentionally going to blow up the wall? And why let the hostages escape?

Team leader Hong, who was only listening, softly pointed out. As she said, there was no apparent reason for the criminals to intentionally blow up the wall.

In truth, the previous wall collapse had been an accident. For some unknown reason, one side of the theater had collapsed. But Jae-chan lied.

“I don’t know exactly. I just conveyed that the criminals were discussing something among themselves. I made it clear. The judgment is up to you and the higher-ups.”

-…

Team leader Hong Ye-deok fell into a rare silence.

“And so…”

Whether she responded or not, Jae-chan had several critical points to deliver before hanging up the phone. The criminals were approaching again, moving back and forth.

He felt a little disappointed.

He wished he could have called Han Tae-hoon.

Team leader Hong Ye-deok may have tried her best, but the current situation was that Team Leader Han Tae-hoon held the most influential voice apart from the Guide Bureau Director. The best case scenario was that Team Leader Hong would relay his message to Han Tae-hoon.

‘I hope they don’t just ignore it and think it’s nonsense.’

It was a time when Seon Jae-chan pretended to look scared on the outside but was worried on the inside.

His shoulders flinched as he surveyed the situation through the mirror-like lens. The hostage-takers were dragging a man out of the main office. His wrists were bound behind his back, and his mouth was taped shut. He was a young man.

“Watch what happens if you don’t follow our instructions.”

The leader nodded, and one of the henchmen, who had been lurking among the crowd, walked over fearlessly. Then…

Bang!

He immediately pulled the trigger. Ahhh! With people’s screams, blood splattered on the screen like a fountain.

Ahhhh! Ahhh! Aahhh!

The theater was once again filled with shock and fear. However, the citizens had no choice but to quickly cover their mouths with both hands. This was because the gun, which hadn’t cooled down yet, was pointed towards where the screams were coming from. It was as if he was threatening that if anyone made a sound, the next round would be aimed in their direction.

“Alright.”

“…”

The subdued threat from the leader fell upon the frightened silence.

“So, follow our instructions quietly.”

The bloodied trails from the gunshot wound on the victim’s head also dripped down onto the screen and the carpet.

Jae-chan couldn’t take his eyes off the scene.

More precisely, from the man who stood tall next to the lifeless body, and blew off the man’s head without hesitation.

He was distinctly shorter but had a solid build. Steadily, his heavy boots moved in front of the screen, and he casually tapped the victim’s side with the toe of his combat boot.

It was a familiar sight.

The guy turned around with an outlaw-like gait. His cruel eyes, visible through the mask, were more menacing than the other criminals.

It was clear.

He was the right arm of the Black Swan ‘Technician’ and a ruthless murderer, the assault leader, code-named ‘Blink,’ Won Seong-il.

That scumbag.

*

At the same time, outside the Jungle Family 4D Theater.

Director Yoo Jeong-jin from the field office arrived on the scene, looking grim. He gazed up at the colorful entrance, which had been occupied by the criminals. Several police cars, about a dozen, had arrived hastily. They were patrol cars from the 1st District Central Headquarters that had rushed here after receiving the reports.

The government classified disaster situations into five grades. It was done to predict the extent of the damage that would occur due to the incident and to follow the manual directly. Green was the lowest grade, and as it went up to Blue, Red, etc., the danger increased. Of course, the highest grade was the grade Black.

The current situation was, needless to say, a grade Black situation.

Of course, not all disaster situations were graded uniformly, but given the estimated firearms and bullets that the criminals were likely to possess, there seemed to be no disagreement in designating it as a grade ‘Black’ situation, even if there wasn’t a single Esper among them.

Director Yoo tightened his nervous grip on his hands. Just then, an MPV vehicle parked near the theater. The door opened immediately, and a person with an extraordinary face and build got out.

“Esper Go Woo-jin?”

He approached Go Woo-jin, who could be seen from afar and spoke to him. ‘What are you doing here?’ Woo-jin answered after reading Yoo Jeong-jin’s anxious, questioning eyes.

“Tempo Black.”

Go Woo-jin raised the pager and spoke in a calm voice.

The prediction was correct.

Yoo Jeong-jin, who swallowed a sigh, finally checked the pager. His pager was vibrating as frantically as Esper Go Woo-jin’s.

The disaster grade judged by the top was Black. A crisis situation just before the outbreak of war.

One after another, more vans arrived. Universal Park had promptly opened the road to allow the vehicles to pass. Unaware of the situation, the audience was swept away like a tide under military police control. Faced with the unsettling atmosphere, the citizens couldn’t even express their dissatisfaction.

Soon, with the cooperation of the theme park,  the maximum brightness lights illuminated the area.

The evening sky in June was as bright as day. Even the character sculptures, which were bizarrely brightly colored and located at the entrance of the theater, became even more vivid. Despite the fact that the theater was still quiet, all bullets were aimed at it.

Go Woo-jin’s gaze was also fixed on the entrance to the theater.

His guide, who was unable to respond to his call, was being held hostage inside.

“…”

He’d learned the news from Operator Chae Sung-hwan, the unit’s most senior member, who’d been contacted by Team Leader Jin Dae-ho on the way here.

“I heard that there’s a hostage situation at Universal Park and one of our Guides is also captured.”

Senior Chae Seong-hwan suffered from severe motion sickness. The senior briefly stuck out his tongue as if to suppress his short bout of nausea, and relayed the team leader’s message to Go Woo-jin with a somewhat hesitant and apologetic tone.

“I heard it was Guide Seon Jae-chan. Your pair guide.”

Woo-jin finally let out a sigh that he had been holding back.