Ch.36Pork Cutlet 4

“What on earth is going on…?”

I muttered to myself in the sudden blackout.

But in the darkness, no one gives me an answer.

Let me think.

Usually, there’s only one reason why department store shutters come down like this.

It means there’s some kind of major threat lurking outside.

And most of those threats are monsters.

Why, why today of all days?

Today, the Seoul Security Force is understaffed because of a Level 3 monster incident in Cheonan.

On days like this, crime rates are especially high, so one needs to be careful.

I clutched my crossbody bag tightly and held my breath.

In the quiet darkness, only Anna’s footsteps could be heard.

“—.”

The sound of metal being crushed echoes from the direction of the shutters.

“Must be monster-proof shutters.”

She muttered to herself.

Could she really be repeatedly punching shutters that even monsters supposedly can’t break?

Unable to find a way to break through the shutters, Anna’s sneaker sounds begin to fade away.

She must be searching for another route.

Left alone in the darkness, I floundered after that sound.

“Wait for me!”

The sealed department store is so dark that I can’t even see people’s silhouettes.

I run blindly toward the sound of her footsteps.

Then I bumped my head into something.

Fortunately, despite my running speed, my head didn’t hurt much.

The only thing bothering me was what I instinctively grabbed when I hit my head.

The rubber band felt under my fingertips, and between them, the soft touch of skin.

Startled by the sensation, I quickly pulled my hand away.

What I had grabbed was Anna’s hip.

“…”

“Sorry… I have poor night vision.”

Anna doesn’t respond to my apology.

She’s just staring intently at a beam of light visible in the distance.

I follow her gaze toward the light.

It’s coming from an emergency exit.

Through the slightly open door, I can see the cosmetics section in the first-floor lobby.

Fortunately, it seems the lobby still has power.

I hurriedly grabbed the door handle.

But before the door could fully open, someone yanked my t-shirt hard.

Thrown back forcefully enough to make my chest stand out, I look up at Anna.

Her cloudy eyes, visible through her colored contacts, tell me:

“Outside, there’s a problem.”

A problem…?

I furrowed my brow.

Staggering to my feet, I carefully observed the first-floor lobby.

Soon I understood why she had thrown me back.

Men wearing gas masks and face coverings were moving around the first-floor lobby.

Armed with pistols and longswords, they were gathering the store’s customers and staff into a line.

The hostages, hands raised high, were kneeling down one by one.

The security guard already had a cold bullet hole in his forehead.

The work of a skilled gunman.

These must be experienced armed robbers.

“Is this everyone?”

“Yeah, we’ve rounded up everyone from below.”

“What about those who went upstairs?”

“Don’t know. They must still be rounding them up.”

“So slow… We have 10 minutes before the Security Force arrives. We’ll just loot the first floor and leave by then.”

A low, heavy voice.

The man in the gas mask skillfully exchanged signals with his companions while sweeping watches and necklaces into a bag he’d brought.

They are thoroughly prepared.

And intelligent too.

Perfect timing and lowering the department store shutters to trap people…

They were perfect predators of this era.

My lips go dry at the sight of the sharp gun barrels and brutal weapons.

I swallow hard and look up at Anna.

She probably came out shopping today knowing security would be lax.

With that crude disguise of hers.

“What should we do…?”

I asked her, who had been observing them alone for a long time.

The fact that she’d been watching this long meant she must have been formulating a plan.

“What else? Kill them all.”

Black-haired Anna answers as if it’s obvious.

Of course.

In her mind, there are probably only two options: save or kill.

The killer pulled the emergency exit handle.

Then she slipped inside and quietly hid behind a cosmetics display.

I watch her clearly from the darkness.

Anna, lying under the display, gestures to me.

That gesture was actually directed at me.

“W-why are you calling me?”

I called out in a small voice, feeling confused.

Anna glared at me as if I was daring to refuse her command.

If I get involved with her here, I’ll be labeled an accomplice again.

But even as I was thinking this, my body was already awkwardly stepping out through the door, obeying Anna.

And like a puppy, I crawled over and stuck close to her side.

The killer, now right next to me, pressed three black beads into my hand.

“What are these?”

“Special smoke bombs.”

Why are you giving these to me, woman…

“When I give the signal. Throw them at those guys.”

She speaks as if we’re playing a game.

After saying this, Anna tears off some packaging ribbon from the cosmetics display.

Then she wraps it around her hand.

“Can’t we just wait until the Security Force arrives…?”

“Then I’d get caught too.”

Right.

Anna is a wanted criminal.

A Class 1 fugitive being pursued by a high-ranker…

It would be troublesome to get caught here.

But if things played out that way, wouldn’t it actually be good for me?

There would be no evidence that I helped Anna here, and I’d just look like another unfortunate customer.

She clearly couldn’t break through the shutters.

Even a killer can’t evade a high-ranker in a sealed space.

Inwardly, I hope she gets arrested by the Security Force.

That hope leads me to consider not throwing the smoke bombs at all.

Anna looks down at me as I grip the smoke bombs tightly.

As our eyes meet, I notice the pale killer’s smooth face.

The killer ruffles my bangs.

The touch makes my thighs instinctively clench.

“I trust you.”

She says this and rises to her knees.

Then she approaches the robbers stealthily and flexibly.

What was that?

For a moment, I thought I saw the corner of Anna’s mouth twitch subtly.

I looked down at the smoke bombs clutched in both hands.

This is driving me crazy.

This means I’m helping a wanted criminal again.

But… just waiting doesn’t seem right either, since who knows when the Security Force will return…

My mind feels wrung out by Anna, leaving me conflicted.

The killer, who couldn’t possibly know my thoughts, signals with her hand.

Following her signal, I reluctantly peeked out.

I can see the brutal robbers.

There are only 3 of them.

They’re busy collecting watches laid out before them.

I swallow and aim at my target.

I’ve thrown smoke bombs before.

During my time in the search squad, I threw them several times when they promised leave for those who would train recruits.

I took out 3 of the 4 she gave me.

And I hid the remaining one in my jacket’s inner pocket.

To keep a final card to escape from Anna.

I take a deep breath.

And as I exhale, I stand up abruptly above the display.

My sudden appearance draws everyone’s attention.

From the bloodshot-eyed robbers to the terrified customers.

I threw the spheres in my hand hard onto the floor.

A perfect “instructor’s demonstration.”

As the spheres hit the ground, there’s a sound like sand pouring out.

Soon, acrid smoke begins to rise heavily from the floor.

“What the—is this an ambush?!”

The sharp sound of a gun being cocked strikes my ears.

But I wasn’t worried.

Because I’m not their opponent.

Smoke bombs don’t just obscure vision.

The loud sound effect when the smoke billows out also masks the footsteps of anyone approaching.

“—!”

The robber in the gas mask frantically looks around.

He keeps calling out his companions’ names.

But no response comes.

“Where are you? Where the hell are you?!”

A cold piece of metal strikes the ground.

Anyone would recognize it as the sound of a metal pipe falling.

“—!”

The gas-masked man’s gun spits fire.

Loud gunshots echo everywhere.

His chest heaves wildly.

But the someone in the fog remains invisible.

As this continues, his breath fogs up his gas mask.

Soon, with white vapor clouding his vision, he tears off the mask and throws it away.

“—!”

The sound of a can falling to the floor is heard.

The man immediately pulls the trigger in that direction.

As the muzzle flashes, his neck is pulled like a trigger too.

A pretty cosmetics ribbon is tied around his thick neck.

He resists, trying to force his fingers between the ribbon.

But the soft silk shows no sign of breaking.

The man’s bloodshot eyes begin to bulge.

Eventually, his eyeballs, beyond just bursting blood vessels, start to protrude.

His fingers, which had been resisting violently, finally turned blue and stiffened.

No more gunshots are heard in the department store.

The thick smoke gradually subsides.

Soon, the pale-eyed killer emerges from the fog.

She approaches me calmly, wiping blood from the back of her hand.

It’s like watching a mystical being.

“The temperature was cold. So the duration was short.”

The killer picks up the smoke bomb shell to show me.

Then she tucks the ribbon she used on the robber into her pocket.

She’s erasing her traces as much as possible.

Seeing her about to leave, I feel relieved.

Since I helped subdue the robbers, I probably won’t be implicated as an accomplice.

I let out a deep sigh of relief.

And I stared at the exit where sunlight was pouring in.

It’s the only escape route the robbers had left open for their getaway.

“—.”

Something appears through that bright light.

I soon realize it’s several vehicles.

And those cars had ‘Hunter’ written on them in English letters.

The car doors open.

Soon, a man steps out.

Long legs.

A sharp sword at his waist.

And that cynical, shaggy hair.

I know this person.

Though I’ve only met him once in my life, I could never forget him.

The man who said he would kill anyone who helped a fugitive.

The current 7th-ranked hunter, Lee Dae-eun.

He enters the department store with armed security officers.

“What’s this? All the robbers are down?”

A confused security officer says to the ranker.

Dae-eun frowns as he looks around the lobby.

Everywhere there are only cold corpses and terrified customers.

His lost gaze then turns toward the two of us standing alone.

“Did you two handle this?”

The high-ranker asks in a cold tone.

It seems he doesn’t remember me.

Black-haired Anna stares at the ranker.

Her finger soon points to herself.

“Yes, you.”

I worried that he might recognize Anna.

It’s reasonable to be suspicious of someone who single-handedly took down three armed robbers.

While thinking this, I suddenly felt a piercing gaze.

Dae-eun’s sharp eyes were now directed at me.

Huh…?

Why is he suddenly looking at me?

I glance at Anna.

And soon realize why Dae-eun was glaring at me.

Anna’s finger is clearly pointing at herself.

But at the same time, her other hand is pointing at me.

The high-ranker approaches me with a suspicious face.

His overwhelming killing intent automatically makes me start hiccupping.