Chapter 12: Break the Limbs

Chapter 12

Knock, knock.

A knocking sound came from the door of the Dream Gold Clan’s representative office. Yang Joong-geun, who had been lounging back in his chair fiddling with his smartphone, responded as if he had been waiting.

“Come in.”

The door opened immediately, and the vice-master, Lee Dong-shik, entered. He bowed politely before speaking.

“I just received a message from the twins. They plan to proceed as scheduled at midnight today.”

“Alright!”

Yang Joong-geun exclaimed triumphantly.

“See! I told you! There was no way that bastard Go Junkyung could refuse the offer, right?”

“Make sure everything is prepared without any mistakes. If there’s even a slight problem, I’ll have that spy’s head on the 30th.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Dong-shik responded mechanically, but Yang Joong-geun looked at him as if he was not pleased.

“What’s with that tone? Are you upset because I didn’t tell you in advance?!”

“No, Master. My throat is just a bit sore… I’m not in good condition.”

Lee Dong-shik made an excuse, but his true feelings were different.

‘Just proceed with the plan on the 30th, and Kim Jinsung will be taken care of. Why waste the clan’s budget without saying anything!’

Because of the operation Yang Joong-geun had unilaterally proposed, an unexpected large sum of money had been spent. This would create a hole in the budget needed for the operation on the 30th, which was already substantial.

‘If you had managed the budget properly, I wouldn’t have said anything, you bastard.’

Yang Joong-geun had not only dumped the responsibility of managing the clan’s budget on Lee Dong-shik but also had a habit of blaming him at the slightest issue.

Unaware of Lee Dong-shik’s inner thoughts, Yang Joong-geun had been venting his frustration.

“You don’t have children, so you don’t understand. I want to avenge my son who passed away before his time!”

“I can’t stand to see that bastard become the hero in front of thousands of viewers on the 30th. I can’t bear to see him smiling victoriously while receiving everyone’s cheers, even if I’m buried six feet under!”

Yang Joong-geun’s eyes, filled with more murderous intent than ever, continued to speak through clenched teeth.

“I must see him become a corpse in a pitiful state during the match that everyone’s watching! Only then will I feel a bit of solace for my youngest son. Do you understand?”

While responding, Lee Dong-shik inwardly sighed heavily. With Yang Joong-geun venting so much, there was nothing more he could say.

‘I have no choice but to hope the twins carry out their task without any mistakes.’

It was too late to contact Go Junkyung now; the situation was like spilled water.

Of course, the chances of success were higher. The twins’ skills I’ve seen suggest there’s little chance of failure…

At 2 AM, all the lights in the waiting room were off.

Go Junkyung, who was in Room 1, sat on the bed with an anxious expression, not asleep.

‘They said they’d come around 2…’

As he thought this while looking at the clock, he heard a rattling sound at the doorknob, and soon the door quietly opened.

Seeing Lee Yoon-sung and Lee Yoon-hwan enter, Go Junkyung stood up.

“So it’s true.”

That was Go Junkyung’s comment upon seeing the key in Lee Yoon-hwan’s hand. The key that could open all the doors in the club was only available to executive-level staff.

‘If they got that key so easily, which even I, the leader, don’t have…’

It meant that the twins had indeed colluded with a high-ranking employee, as they had said earlier.

Go Junkyung finally nodded, completely dispelling his doubts.

“Alright. What’s the plan now?”

“Let’s show you through action. Follow us.”

The three of them left Room 1. As soon as they stepped out, Go Junkyung looked around the ceiling, and Lee Yoon-sung whispered reassuringly.

“Don’t worry about the CCTV for the next 30 minutes. The employee we’ve bribed has stopped the recording.”

Hearing this, Go Junkyung nodded and followed the twins.

They stopped at Room 87.

“Why Room 87? Kim Jinsung’s room is 99.”

“We’re dealing with our opponent for tomorrow first…”

“It’ll be quick. Each room takes less than 5 minutes.”

The twins answered in succession. Lee Yoon-hwan stood in front of the door and extended his hands forward.

Mana began to swirl above his gathered palms, and Go Junkyung’s eyes widened.

“A mage…?”

Magicians, or awakened beings with magical abilities, are a rare sight even in this era filled with numerous ability users. This is because becoming a magician requires not only innate talent but also years of proper training and refinement from a young age. It was unthinkable that among the boys living in what was virtually the bottom rung of Korea, there would be a magician.

‘They must have come in from the outside with a purpose.’

As Lee Yoon-hwan finished casting the spell and withdrew his hand, he pointed to the mana barrier enveloping Room 87 and explained.

“It’s a silence spell. Now, no one will notice any sound coming from here.”

“I’m going to open the door now, put on your masks. We’ll need to give it our all.”

“Quiet.”

Go Junkyung, who had already taken all the painkillers he had been saving from the medical room for this moment, put on the black mask he had prepared. Lee Yoon-sung then began to unlock the metal door with the key.

“…Huh? Who’s there?”

A boy’s voice came from inside upon hearing the door being unlocked. Ignoring it, Lee Yoon-sung turned the key, opened the door, and shouted as he rushed in.

“Subdue him!”

“What the?!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of three masked assailants, the boy instinctively moved to defend himself. He managed to dodge the punch from Lee Yoon-sung, who was leading the charge, by throwing his body to the side with all his might.

However, he couldn’t avoid Go Junkyung’s follow-up attack.

“Ugh..!”

The boy, hit squarely in the jaw, fell to the floor. Lee Yoon-hwan pulled out a wet handkerchief from his pocket, pounced on the boy, and shouted.

“Hold him!”

As he covered the boy’s mouth with the handkerchief, Go Junkyung and Lee Yoon-sung grabbed the boy’s struggling arms and subdued him.

“Mmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!”

After struggling for a while, the boy’s eyes rolled back, and his eyelids closed, succumbing to the sleep-inducing drug soaked in the handkerchief.

“Phew, done.”

“Where should we start?”

“Since they said this guy is fast, let’s go for the left knee and ankle ligaments.”

“Alright.”

Lee Yoon-sung immediately twisted the boy’s left leg.

After hearing the sound of breaking twice, he said,

“Let’s go.”

Leading the group out of Room 87, Lee Yoon-sung locked the door and said to Go Junkyung,

“That’s how it’s done. Easy, right?”

Go Junkyung nodded.

At the same time, he thought to himself,

‘I’ll have to break at least four places on Kim Jinsung.’

Still, he wasn’t entirely reassured. A person at Kim Jinsung’s level could temporarily mend ligaments or fractures using mana.

Of course, as the match progresses into the later stages, the fatigue will likely exacerbate the aftereffects of the injuries.

‘I’ll have to watch and break more if necessary.’

“Next is Room 92,” said Lee Yoon-sung, and the group moved on.

Room 92 was subdued even more easily. The boy couldn’t even dodge the first attack from Lee Yoon-sung.

After dealing with the boy’s left elbow and a rib, Lee Yoon-sung, stepping outside, said,

“Next is Room 5.”

But Go Junkyung stopped him.

“Wait. Kim Jinsung’s room is 99, right?”

“I know. But there’s one more we need to take care of before that.”

“Why Park Seongtae?”

Responding to Go Junkyung’s question about who was in Room 5, the twins took turns answering.

“That guy has been treating us like toys for the past two weeks, and it’s been pissing us off.”

“A piece of trash forced laborer dares to treat someone of my noble status like a slave? I can’t just let that slide.”

“We’ll make sure he dies on the stage alongside Kim Jinsung tomorrow.”

With anger on their faces, they revealed their true feelings and headed straight for Room 5. Go Junkyung, watching their backs, was not pleased.

‘Why are these guys changing the plan? They said we’d only deal with three people!’

“What are you doing? Not coming?”

“Don’t you want to take care of Kim Jinsung?”

However, Go Junkyung had no choice but to follow them after the twins’ remarks. He was already in the same boat with them, and he knew better than anyone that he couldn’t subdue Kim Jinsung alone.

Soon after arriving at Room 5, they laid down a silence spell and began unlocking the door with the key.

“What the?!”

Park Seongtae was quick to react. As soon as he heard the key, he shouted out.

Just as Lee Yoon-sung was about to fully open the door, a punch flew through the gap, but Lee Yoon-sung inhaled sharply. However, Go Junkyung, standing right next to him, blocked it, so no one was hit.

Park Seongtae, realizing his punch was blocked, glared.

“Go Junkyung, you bastard…!”

Even with a mask on, the giant figure was immediately recognized.

Park Seongtae was about to throw another punch when…

“…Huh?”

He was suddenly confused. His body had stiffened and wouldn’t move.

The cause was Lee Yoon-hwan’s magic. It was a basic freezing spell, but it was enough to throw Park Seongtae into a panic since it was his first time experiencing it.

Lee Yoon-sung and Go Junkyung didn’t miss the opportunity.

Thump! Thump!

“Ugh…!”

Park Seongtae, hit squarely on the jaw and temple, collapsed powerlessly to the floor, and Lee Yoon-hwan pounced on him with a handkerchief.

Despite Park Seongtae’s desperate resistance, he eventually succumbed to the effects of the sleep-inducing drug and his eyelids closed.

“Damn, that was tough.”

“If we hadn’t prepared the freezing spell in advance, we would have been in big trouble.”

“Which part of this bastard should we mess up? Hehehe,”

The twins quietly laughed as they reached for the limbs of the unconscious Park Seongtae.

A short while later, the group stood in front of Room 99.

“This is the last one.”

“This guy won’t be easy, will he?”

“Of course not. We have to use everything we’ve got now.”

Lee Yoon-sung looked back at Go Junkyung.

“Stay sharp. If he escapes the perimeter even a little, it’s all screwed.”

Go Junkyung nodded without saying a word, already more tense than ever.

“We’re going to use both silence and slow spells this time.”

Lee Yoon-hwan said, concentrating on casting the spells. It seemed strenuous to cast two spells at once, as sweat poured down his body even in the dark.

After a while, Lee Yoon-hwan completed the casting.

“Phew… Done.”

“Quick, drink a mana potion. And you, take this.”

Lee Yoon-sung handed Go Junkyung a dagger about a hand’s length.

Go Junkyung raised an eyebrow.

Why? Are they telling me to kill Kim Jinsung now?

“Have you forgotten that if Kim Jinsung dies, it’s as good as the operation failing?”

“I know. Only use it if things go south and the door opens.”

Lee Yoon-sung immediately inserted the key into the lock and began to turn it.

Go Junkyung reluctantly pocketed the dagger and began to activate his abilities.

Clunk.

“Go in!”

Lee Yoon-sung shouted as he flung the door open.

However, Lee Yoon-hwan and Go Junkyung stopped in their tracks as they were about to rush in.

“What the?”

“Where did he go?”

Kim Jinsung, who should have been inside Room 99, was nowhere to be found.