Ch.136Chapter 136. Happy Birthday (3)

“That way, Juliane.”

“What? Didn’t you say it was this way earlier?”

“There’s a slight margin of error because of the distance.”

Juliane and Cuss had hurriedly gotten into the car.

The two were driving around the outskirts of LA.

“Don’t worry. The error margin decreases as we get closer.”

“Are you sure about that…?”

“Absolutely. I used this to find Jinsoo in LA all the way from Florida.”

“Oh.”

That made it trustworthy.

I couldn’t understand how a scent could travel across the entire country, but I decided to believe it.

Or rather, I had nothing else to believe in.

“The fluctuations have decreased now. That direction is definitely right.”

Cuss suddenly pointed toward the roadside.

Looking closer, I could see a faint dirt path alongside the asphalt road.

The place where Mr. Jinsoo had stopped was definitely an unpaved road.

“Over there must be…”

An abandoned warehouse that failed maintenance.

What could Mr. Jinsoo be doing in such a place?

Nervous, Juliane swallowed hard and pressed her foot on the accelerator.

“That’s it.”

She turned the steering wheel and drove straight onto the dirt road.

Yellow dust rose like smoke behind the car.

Inside the bumpy car, Juliane gritted her teeth.

She thought there might even be a fight.

“Cuss. Call the police.”

“You mean 911?”

“Yes. Tell them to track our phone location.”

Whoever these guys were, she was determined to make them pay.

With that thought in mind, Juliane gripped the steering wheel and drove on when—

“Huh?”

She spotted Jinsoo’s car.

Juliane immediately hit the brakes, jumped out, and ran toward it.

But Mr. Jinsoo wasn’t in the car window or the trunk.

It was just abandoned there, not even locked.

Feeling deflated, Juliane looked up and saw a massive warehouse with a ceiling that looked like it might collapse at any moment.

“Juliane. It’s that building. The signal is much stronger. That must be it.”

“Yeah… Do you want to wait in the car, Cuss?”

“No.”

“…”

Of course she wouldn’t want to.

What would Mr. Jinsoo do in this situation?

He’d probably force her to stay in the car and lock the doors.

But I wasn’t Mr. Jinsoo.

I couldn’t treat Cuss exactly the way he would.

I intended to be as considerate to Cuss as I could in my own way.

“No, Juliane. Please take me with you…”

“Alright. Let’s go, Cuss. But don’t let go of my hand.”

“Juliane, you’re the best!”

Juliane held Cuss’s hand and started running.

She needed Cuss’s help to find Mr. Jinsoo’s exact location.

Together, they would rescue him.

***

“Son of a…”

The moment the door slid open.

A vulgar curse escaped my mouth before I knew it.

One thug dragging a huge saw on the ground.

And one guy with glasses holding some strange toolbox.

“Did you sleep well? Keh-keh-keh!”

“Who are you guys? Whose kids are you?”

“Why would someone whose guts are about to be spilled care? Kee-kik.”

“You look like slum rats… Your boss is Bob, right?”

“…”

These bastards won’t answer.

How does Bob educate these kids?

“Hey! Do you know who I am? I’m the guy who! Had dinner with your boss just the other day! Huh? We even went to the barber shop together! I did everything! You bastards! Aren’t you going to untie me?”

“Puhehehe! You seem to be misunderstanding something!”

“What the hell.”

“We didn’t capture you because we work for that Cocoa Puffs bastard, get it? Keh-keh.”

“…”

The nerdy guy’s vulgar tone left me speechless.

Damn. What’s going on then?

Are they some rival organization to Bob’s cartel?

Are they trying to beat me up to declare war on Bob?

“You idiots! Is this Detroit or Mexico? Capturing people to make an example? You’ll regret this! Have you heard of the LA Wonder Woman? Huh?”

“Everyone knows her!”

“That’s my wife! If you don’t want to be pulverized, you’d better untie me now!”

“Everyone clings to that excuse when they’re desperate! Hahaha!”

“Aaaaargh! You bastards!!!”

“Woohoo! Look how fresh this is! Grade A human meat!”

The guy started rummaging through his toolbox.

Think I’m going to die quietly?

I had to escape.

First, I calmly examined the handcuffs binding my arms above my head.

They weren’t police handcuffs but thick iron shackles like those used on medieval slaves.

Breaking them would be impossible.

Looking at the chain hook…

‘I think I can pull it out.’

It was a one-way locking carabiner, which would be difficult but if I pressed the spring, I could pull it out with force.

“Stop squirming.”

“…”

Fortunately, the guys were too busy examining the saw blade to look at my hands.

Now was my chance.

I stretched my fingers to grab the hook and pulled my body up.

Then I used my index finger to lift the spring.

“Nnngh…”

What kind of spring tension is this?

Feels like my finger’s going to break.

If I could just pull the chain through the gap… through the gap…

Damn it. Why is this chain so thick?

My ligaments feel like they’re about to snap.

“Hnnnngh…!”

“What are you making so much noise for… Huh?”

Got it.

The moment I pulled the chain out of the hook, the spring snapped back with a click.

As I fell from the ceiling, the guys looking up at me turned pale.

Time to make you pay, you bastards.

“Guhk!”

As soon as I landed, I kicked the glasses guy in the solar plexus.

Separated from his glasses, he flew backward and slammed against the wall, slumping down.

“Wha-what! This shouldn’t be happening!”

“What shouldn’t be happening!”

The thug who had been swaggering around while I was tied up was now trembling and panicking.

You only pick on tied-up guys?

Pathetic bastard.

“Come at me, you piece of shit. If you don’t want to die.”

“Aaaah!”

When I told him to come at me, he tried to run away instead.

I leaped forward in one bound and delivered a kick to his waist.

The damage must have been significant because he twisted his waist and collapsed, unable to get up.

“I-I’m sorry. Actually, we weren’t trying to harm you…”

“The excuses come pouring out, don’t they?”

They say your tongue gets longer when you’re about to die.

Watching him trembling and crawling backward made me laugh.

“Ugh…”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Urk!”

Meanwhile, the glasses guy was trying to crawl away, so I immediately stepped on his neck.

When I pressed down on his carotid artery, his eyes started to roll back.

At the same time, I pressed my knee into the thug’s solar plexus.

I wonder if hitting him in the head with this chain would kill him instantly.

It would depend on the area and angle of impact.

“Aaaah! It was just a joke!”

“Then let me play one joke too, okay?”

“No, that’s not what I meant! Aaaack! Please spare me!”

Just as I raised both arms high, aiming for his forehead, I heard footsteps from beyond the door.

There were several people.

Three? Five? No, more than that.

This is bad.

I needed to finish these guys off quickly before dealing with the others.

Just as I was about to bring my arms down…

Slide!

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birth… day… Huh?”

“Eh?”

The door opened to reveal a bizarre scene.

Isn’t that Bob and his gang?

Why are they holding a cake?

“You crazy bastard! Why are you beating up the kids!”

“Huh?”

What the hell is going on?

*

“So… this was all a surprise?”

“Well… you should spend your actual birthday with family. So we prepared a surprise attack the day before.”

Silence fell over the warehouse.

Looking down at Cocoa Puffs with his head bowed, I couldn’t help but sigh.

So kidnapping me and bringing me here to fake organ trafficking was all Bob’s doing.

They had set up a situation where it looked like they were about to cut me open and remove my organs, planning to jump out right before putting the knife to me for a surprise…

They clearly hadn’t expected me to undo the carabiner and come down.

The result was this mess.

One glasses guy foaming at the mouth, drifting in and out of consciousness.

One thug clutching his waist, completely unable to stand up.

Thanks to me disabling two people, what should have been a cheerful atmosphere had turned gloomy.

“Urgh… boss…”

Holding his waist, the thug stood up with a vicious look in his eyes.

Then he positioned himself in front of the cake, its candles melted and drooping.

“We should sing before it all melts! I paid for this cake with my own money!”

What?

“Ah, right! One, two, three!”

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Dear Jinsoo! Happy birthday to you!”

“Blow out the candles, Jinsoo! Hurry! They’re melting!”

“Oh!”

I was dumbfounded by their creepy chorus.

To be honest, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t touched.

This was probably the only kind of surprise these idiots could come up with.

The thug with the bent waist and the glasses guy who could barely breathe were all clapping and celebrating my birthday.

If I couldn’t feel their “sincerity” here, I’d be no different from a psychopath.

It really was the best surprise ever, except for being hit with a taser gun.

I smiled and blew out all the candles with a strong breath.

But do these idiots not know my age?

Why are there seven candles?

Do I look like a 7-year-old kid to you?

“Geez. You disgusting guys. Going this far for a surprise.”

“You’re the hero who saved our organization! This much is only natural! Hahaha!”

“Do you tase your heroes?”

“But didn’t it feel thrilling and good?”

“…”

“Huh? Why no answer? Did it actually feel good…?”

Bob and his gang’s expressions turned strange.

I mean, it does hurt, but…

Isn’t it actually quite pleasurable?

“What? Why? Am I the only weird one here?”

“…”

“Don’t lie, damn it! I know some of you enjoy getting tased too!”

“Jinsoo… You’re probably the only person in the world who enjoys that…”

“What are you talking about! Raise your hand while I’m still being nice! I know I’m not the only one!”

Why are they hiding something so embarrassing?

This is ridiculous.

Somehow, the respect and admiration in the eyes of the gang members had disappeared, replaced only by fear.

“But what did you do to my car? The doors wouldn’t open and the brakes didn’t work.”

“Oh, that? When you left it with the valet, our guys secretly installed a virus. Pretty skilled, right?”

“You damn bastards…”

“Okay, okay! I’ll delete it! I’ll delete it right now!”

These crazy bastards.

I was trying to let it go, but suddenly I felt like punching that brown head until it caved in.

Just as I was approaching Bob with a clenched fist while he waved his hands in surrender—

BOOM…!

“What’s that?”

A vibration shook the entire warehouse.

The atmosphere instantly became tense, and goosebumps rose all over my body.

It wasn’t just me who felt it—Bob and his gang had turned pale and were trembling.

“Something… is coming…!”

Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor with a thump-thump sound.

Something dangerous was heading our way.