Ch.206Danger Zone! (4)

# Chapter 206

Inner Energy.

Inner energy refers to the condensed energy stored in the dantian, a reservoir within the body, after extracting and concentrating qi—the energy of nature—through breathing, and channeling it through the body’s pathways known as meridians.

Martial arts are means of launching physical attacks or releasing energy in other forms based on inner energy.

‘Just as a broken battery loses its stored electricity, suffering a strong blow to the body can shatter the dantian and cause the loss of inner energy.’

While nanobots couldn’t replace inner energy, they could generate enough power to inflict serious damage on an opponent.

‘The point is to deliver an effective physical attack, one way or another.’

In the end, what mattered was landing ‘one decisive blow.’

The Secretary, who had been consuming his inner energy, was becoming increasingly flustered as he watched Dexter’s right arm grow more menacing.

‘What the hell is happening to that bastard’s arm?’

Dexter’s arm was swelling to the point where it could no longer be called an arm.

It was concerning whether the arm would return to normal even after the Secretary, Dexter’s enemy, finished his attack.

‘I need to stop this here.’

He had no idea what would happen if that arm grew any larger.

The Secretary immediately took a running start, leaped up, and rushed in to stop Dexter’s scheme.

The martial art the Secretary used had a grandiose name derived from constellations, but that hardly mattered now.

In an instant, the Secretary’s arms flashed with light as he stretched both hands toward Dexter’s face.

Ninety percent of the Secretary’s inner energy concentrated in his two hands, and with a peculiar battle cry, his arms began to move like those of a mollusk.

“Kuh… D-d-d-daaah!”

This was practically the Secretary’s ultimate secret technique.

Each flowing, thrusting punch carried enough inner energy and physical force to rattle the brain.

Dexter dodged some of the Secretary’s strikes but took others head-on.

However, it wasn’t that the Secretary’s hands were too fast for Dexter to avoid.

Dexter had something else in mind.

‘An opportunity.’

Not enough power had gathered in his right arm yet.

With the help of nanobots, Dexter had reflexes good enough to dodge while targeting weaknesses.

But out of every ten attacks, he was deliberately allowing six to land.

‘Not yet.’

He was somehow defending with his left hand, but he was now allowing most attacks to hit his upper body.

His face, struck countless times, was soaked in blood, giving him a demonic appearance, and his entire upper body was drenched in blood flowing from his face.

With all the pain-suppressing nanobots concentrated in his right hand, Dexter, unable to withstand the pain, finally half-knelt.

Feeling pain to his very bones, his left hand gradually weakened, and his vision began to blur.

‘Please… just 10 more seconds…!’

As Dexter gritted his teeth, hoping his body would hold out, the Secretary, who had been mercilessly attacking him to the point of nearly depleting his inner energy, shouted:

“Why?!”

He shouted while unleashing attacks without pause.

“Why?!”

He shouted while delivering endless strikes.

“Why aren’t you fighting back?! Why are you just taking the hits?!”

Even from the Secretary’s perspective, beating an opponent who wasn’t resisting was unpleasant.

There had to be a clear reason why Dexter wasn’t blocking despite being perfectly capable of counterattacking.

“Are you waiting for someone?! Or have you planted a bomb to wipe out this entire area?! Answer me!!”

Despite the Secretary’s demands, Dexter said nothing, only making weakened sounds.

“Kuh. Khuh.”

As the attacks seemed to subside somewhat, Dexter forcibly opened his swollen eyes.

“Are you mocking me now…?!”

“Mock…ing? What… Hehe.”

Dexter spat out the dark red blood pooled in his mouth and spoke haltingly, letting out a small laugh toward the enraged Secretary.

“You see…”

This was the moment he needed to focus on his words.

Now was the time.

Dexter gathered all the strength he had been accumulating and struck the Secretary’s side with tremendous force.

“…!”

Before the Secretary could block—

Dexter’s fist delivered a powerful impact.

The martial artist’s pride bent along with the Secretary’s body.

—KWANG!

The Secretary slammed hard against the wall, shattering his dantian.

The impact was strong enough to slightly dent the concrete wall, followed by pain that felt like every bone in his body was being crushed.

The Secretary couldn’t say a word.

Having felt this unprecedented power for the first time, he could only stare wide-eyed at Dexter’s hand as it gradually returned to normal size.

Meeting the Secretary’s gaze, Dexter revealed a victorious smile through his swelling face.

‘They say nothing without a price has any value.’

Dexter, too, collapsed to the floor, having paid the price for using such excessive power.

‘Conversely, things that require payment have value.’

Dexter barely raised his unresponsive left hand to check the earpiece still lodged in his left ear.

‘Fortunately, it doesn’t seem broken.’

Pressing the earpiece to connect with Himena, Dexter coughed up blood rising from within.

“Ugh, Hi, Himena…”

[Dexter? Where are you now? Are you at that gang leader’s place he mentioned? Are you okay? Huh? Say something.]

“Speak… a bit… slower…”

Despite Himena’s voice being full of concern, Dexter somehow found it amusing.

[Look at how weak your voice is! Dexter Hughes, tell me where you are right now!]

The usual pet name was gone, replaced by his full name—a sign of how urgent the situation was—but Dexter answered leisurely.

“Where else… would I be… kuh… I’m where that Secretary bastard is…”

[I should come right now, right? Huh? Dexter, why aren’t you saying anything?]

“Yeah, please come…”

[Okay, I’ll bring the rapid response team and… agents right away, just hang on a little… Dex… ter…]

* * *

An unfamiliar ceiling.

When Dexter opened his eyes, he was in a hospital room filled with white.

‘Is it nighttime?’

Both the room and outside the window were dark.

From this, he could tell that he was on a high floor, too high to see the streetlights.

As Dexter turned his head, he saw Himena sleeping in a chair with someone’s coat draped over her, and Jessie sleeping while leaning on Himena’s shoulder.

Turning to the other side, he saw Emily sleeping with her arms crossed and head bowed.

It was a private room with no one else present.

‘My head feels clear, but my body won’t move.’

His mind was lucid, but his body felt completely drained of strength.

Not wanting to wake everyone who was sleeping soundly, Dexter forced himself to sit up.

‘Wow, I really can’t move my body at all. This is frustrating.’

Dexter felt annoyed, as if he had become an elderly person whose body wouldn’t obey his commands.

His clothes had been changed to a hospital gown, and naturally, his personal belongings like his phone and wallet were nowhere to be seen.

There was a TV remote on the bedside table, but pressing it would surely wake everyone up, so he couldn’t turn it on.

In the end, Dexter chose to do nothing but lie there with his eyes wide open, exhaling deeply.

‘This is really boring. But where’s Judy?’

Judy was the only one missing from the group.

—SLAM.

Just as Dexter was wondering where Judy might be, the hospital room door suddenly opened, startling him.

“The best private room should obviously have a vending machine nearby… how could they put it in the farthest possible… De, Dexter?”

—CRASH.

Judy, who had been grumbling while carrying armfuls of snacks, dropped everything in shock when she saw Dexter sitting up in bed, looking at her.

“…Huh? Who’s there? Who came?”

Himena, with her sensitive hearing, also jumped up at Judy’s voice and looked around, then rushed to embrace Dexter when she saw him looking at her with a subtle smile.

Jessie covered her face with both hands and cried profusely, saying it was fortunate he had woken up, while Emily quietly sat beside Dexter, gently stroking his left hand where the IV was inserted.

After the commotion settled, Judy turned on the lights and looked at Dexter with reddened eyes.

“I was really worried. How could you go to such a place alone…?”

“I didn’t die, so it’s fine… ugh.”

“You crazy bastard! Is that all you have to say?! Were you trying to make me a widow? Are you insane? Crazy! Huh!”

When Jessie punched Dexter’s leg with both fists, her eyes swollen from crying, Dexter looked at her with reproachful, narrowed eyes.

“Hey, hey. I’m still in pain.”

“…Does it hurt a lot?”

Seeing her go from hitting him to gently caressing the same spot, Dexter forced his uncooperative hand up to pat Jessie’s head.

“You’re really something else.”

“Jessie was so worried too, and you say that’s funny… How are you feeling? Are you okay? Judging by how you’re moving your hand, it doesn’t look good.”

In response to Himena’s question, which mixed complaint and concern, Dexter answered lightly as if it were nothing.

“I feel fine mentally, but I can’t move my body at all. Other than that, I’m just… okay.”

“Just okay, really… When I found you, I thought you were dead for sure…”

Due to the consumption of many nanobots, he had been bleeding profusely, his face covered in blood.

When Himena revealed that Judy, who had come with her, had been wailing beside the unconscious Dexter and nearly fainted herself, Judy’s face turned red.

“I don’t even want to think about that time…”

“Your bulletproof vest was crushed, the doctor couldn’t guarantee a full recovery, and you didn’t wake up for over a week… Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

“I was asleep for over a week?”

Dexter frowned, dissatisfied, thinking he might have been asleep for too long.

“Time has already passed, nothing we can do about it. So, did you catch that Secretary bastard?”

Dexter hoped the Secretary who had reduced him to this state was still alive. Himena nodded in response to his question, but with a troubled expression.

“Well… he died the next day.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think? You left him in such a state that he couldn’t survive…”

“The doctor who examined him said he wouldn’t last the day, and the medical examiner said the impact to his side was equivalent to being hit by a dump truck going 60 miles per hour.”

His bones and organs weren’t just crushed—they were practically pulverized, making it impossible to save him.

“The Secretary did leave something like a last testament, but it wasn’t particularly helpful… He just apologized to the ‘Chief.'”

“What did he say exactly?”

“…Let’s talk about that after your body recovers. Okay? Why are you trying to get back to work as soon as you wake up?”

Dexter was about to argue with Himena but then decided to let it go.

There was nothing wrong with what she was saying.

“…Fine, let’s rest.”

Since he couldn’t move properly anyway, Dexter decided to rest comfortably among the women who were worried about him.

Then Dexter’s gaze fell on Emily, who was sitting to his left.

She was still silently fiddling with his hand without saying anything.

“Emily.”

“…Yes.”

“Why were you crying back then?”

Though her expression remained blank as always, hesitation was visible in her eyes and actions.

After struggling with how to respond, Emily finally spoke.

“…It was because of the… smoke from the smoke grenades that had soaked into Dexter’s combat uniform…”

The words that came from Emily’s mouth were the most obvious lie in the world.